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Meet Our Alumni

• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/837-randall-meadows"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,360,359/726_IMG_3080_4.rev.1506973300.jpg" alt="Randy Meadows E&H ’88" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="360" data-max-h="359"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/837-randall-meadows"><p> As a psychotherapist in Los Angeles, Randall talks to a lot of people. But he finds that in many ways, people are very much the same.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Randall “Randy” Meadows LCSW (E&H ’88) talks to a lot of people during a day’s work. He’s a psychotherapist in Los Angeles, and part of his week is spent doing outpatient psychiatry Kaiser Permanente Medical Group; his role there is as a crisis therapist and he deals with things like work stress, panic attacks, and suicidal and homicidal impulses.</p><p> He also has a private practice where he does weekly therapy with individuals seeking personal internal growth. He says therapy is a “strange thing. It is a very intense relationship with a lot of boundaries.”  But despite the angst he deals with daily, he doesn’t get frustrated because he has seen so many people grow and succeed past current problems. “I routinely see people overcome their challenges.”</p><p> In fact, he sees his role as a privilege. “I’m fortunate: I get to see behind the masks of janitors, lawyers, and movie stars. In one conversation, a janitor may be worried about being judged by the head janitor while a movie star is worried about being judged by Jack Nicholson. We are all pretty much the same on the inside.”</p><p> Randy majored in economics and political science at Emory & Henry. And even though he wasn’t loving the program he had nearly completed his MBA at the University of Maryland when his father died. This big life event made him realize life was short and gave him need for some time to reflect; he entered therapy.  He was so impressed by the process that he decided to go into the profession.</p><p> Randy didn’t get a background in psychology at Emory & Henry, but he credits the College (particularly the political science department) for preparing him for a meaningful adult life. He loves living in the melting pot of Los Angeles, and says his E&H classes started him on the process of embracing the joys of living in a “liberal and inclusive” community. A self-declared Republican when he came to Emory & Henry, Randy recalls a day in class when Dr. Steve Fisher listened closely to what Randy was expressing and said, “You know you’re not a Republican, right?” He gave Randy a stack of books to read that paved the way for the rest of his life. He says his professors never tried to sway his thinking, but they challenged him to “make educated decisions.” </p><p> It’s not all work for Randy, and he says he plays as hard as he works. He says Los Angeles has an amazing array of cultural offerings including “theatre, concerts, museums” and more. And he takes full advantage of the California climate: “I can have breakfast at the beach, drive up the mountain to snowboard in the afternoon, and drive down the mountain for evening cocktails by the pool in the desert!” All in a day’s work.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/837-randall-meadows" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/792-bronie-reynolds"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,499,543/565_bronie.rev.1505403379.jpg" alt="Bronie Reynolds (E&H '84) poses with Mike Young (E&H ’86)" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="499" data-max-h="543"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/792-bronie-reynolds"><p> Did you ever wonder who picks the best referees in the country? Turns our Bronie Reynolds (right, E&H ’84) is one of those people.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><blockquote><p> She picks the refs who make the big calls. </p></blockquote><p> Bronie Reynolds (E&H ’84, E&H Hall of Fame basketball point guard) laughs with glee as she recalls how Dave Thomas used a dust spray around the edges of the E&H basketball court. “He took such good care of the King Center…and we all knew if you got much beyond the court lines during a game, you’d slide all over the place because he had dusted over there!”</p><p> These days Bronie is looking at basketball from a different vantage point. She is one of a handful of people who evaluate basketball referees. She works for Charlene Curtis – former basketball standout and Hall Of Famer from Radford University who selects and assigns the Women’s Basketball Officials for the ACC, Big South, Southern and Colonial Conferences.  Bronie has known Ms. Curtis for a long time. “Coach Curtis, as I refer to her since I worked under her as her Graduate Assistant Coach at Radford University in 1984, is also responsible for the evaluation of the officials for those conferences.  She has to hire Neutral Observers, like me, to help her fulfill the expectations of each conference to have the best officials on the floor for every game. “</p><p> During the summer, she attends a camp where new officials try to break into conferences like the ACC and current officials try to vie for a better spot on the referee totem pole. Bronie says it’s very competitive. “Every year they’re all evaluated – so they have to be on their best game. They have to stay in shape physically, they must know the rules, and they need to appear invisible on the court. There is always someone trying to get their spot.”</p><p> She has a “day job,” too. She is Business Manager for Blue Spiral Consulting and an Insurance Consultant for Blue Ridge Insurance Services. However, throughout the year she watches tapes of games and attends games, and she gets to watch a lot of her favorite sport. “I get paid to watch basketball! Who can complain about that!?”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/792-bronie-reynolds" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/842-ken-noe"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/203,60,416,273/744_noe.rev.1507061099.jpg" alt="Dr. Ken Noe (right) with another E&H alum, Peter Thomas ('08)" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="213" data-max-h="213"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/842-ken-noe"><p> Weather can influence more than your picnic: it also affects entire military campaigns.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> When Dr. Ken Noe (’79) was growing up in Elliston he remembers that weather played a huge role in the work done on his grandfather’s farm. “If rain was coming, we dropped everything else to put up hay.” He thinks this experience planted a seed in the back of his mind about the impactful influence of weather. Later, his interest in weather grew when he took a geography course at Emory & Henry with Dr. Ed Bingham.</p><p> But even he could never have predicted that he would now be writing a two-volume book on weather’s impact on the American Civil War.</p><p> Ken is the Draughon Professor of Southern History at Auburn University. He is the author or editor of seven books, and he has published scads of articles, essays and chapters about the Civil War. He is a decorated history professor serving at West Georgia College before heading to Auburn. He was a Pulitzer Prize entrant and won the 2003 Kentucky Governor’s award, the 2002 Peter Seaborg Book Award for Civil War Non-fiction, and the 1997 Tennessee History Book Award. He has won several teaching awards, has served as president of the Alabama Historical Association, and is serving on the Advisory Board of the Society of Civil War Historians. He has even been a consultant for the NBC series <em>Who Do You Think You Are? </em></p><p> But in all his prolific writing and research and publishing even he is surprised that his biggest and most industrious work to-date will be about weather.  “Meteorologists are still trying to work out why the weather during the Civil War was so unusual. They dealt with incredibly snowy and rainy winters and droughts in the summer that affected Southern food supplies. There were dust storms, flooded rivers, and only two hurricanes. It had a profound effect on many campaigns.”</p><p> His research on weather has already taken several years, and he still has a few years left before he publishes. And even he was amazed to realize just how much information he had accumulated. “Very little has been written about Civil War environmental history. It is only now becoming part of the conversation about Civil War history.”  </p><p> Ken says that even in a field of study like Civil War history where so many things have been written, there is still new area for research and a lot of topics that haven’t been covered.  He has grad students asking new questions about the role of religion, the prison industries during the war, the role of friendship, and one young man, who is an E&H grad, is looking into camp life.</p><p> Even though we have just passed the 150^th anniversary of the American Civil War, Ken points out that this conflict still has implications for current events; and he marvels that most conversations over the past 18 months have quickly moved from history to current topics like the Confederate flag, U.S. prisons, and race relations. He says his field has gotten so tangled with politics that there is a declining interest in Civil War history among the public. “But this event still has much to teach us. It was a great turning point in American History and opened up questions that are still being answered about equality of humankind, the status of women, states’ rights. I don’t know how we can answer all these questions unless we go back to the beginning.” He consistently stresses to his students the importance of going back to primary source information rather than depending on how the stories have been told and passed down.</p><p><a href="/live/image/gid/68/height/500/744_noe.jpg" class="lw_preview_image"><img width="450" height="490" alt="Photo: Dr. Ken Noe poses with one of his Auburn grad students, Peter Thomas (E&H, ’08). In ..." src="/live/image/gid/68/width/450/height/490/744_noe.rev.1507061099.jpg" class="lw_image lw_image744 lw_align_left" data-max-w="450" data-max-h="490"/><span class="lw_image_caption lw_align_left" style="width: 450px">Photo: Dr. Ken Noe poses with one of his Auburn grad students, Peter Thomas (E&H, ’08). In addition to the flag of his home state in the background, if you look closely, you can just make out the end of his lacrosse stick from college days.</span></a>Ken actually majored in education at Emory & Henry and still remembers panicking when he realized he didn’t want to be a junior high school teacher. “I had a lot of electives leftover and started taking history classes late in my college experience. I realized what I wanted to be was a historian and teach at a higher level.” A conversation with Patsi Trollinger (’72) reassured him that most alumni do not stick to work within their major. And a conversation with Dr. Gene Rasor in the history department led to a phone call which ended with Dr. Rasor telling Ken he had an interview with the history department at Virginia Tech.</p><p> The rest, as they say, is history.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/842-ken-noe" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/670-micah-morris"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,250,250/6034_Micah_Morris.rev.1551713188.jpg" alt="E&H's Micah Morris, Class of 2009" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="250" data-max-h="250"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/670-micah-morris"><p> Micah Morris (’09) Fighting Apathy</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Micah Morris is a political and nonprofit professional with over 10 years experience raising money, coaching teams, and running programs to create a tangible difference in people’s lives.</p><p> A native of the Chattanooga, Tennessee, region Micah focused on social change work and community organizing while attending college at Emory & Henry.</p><p> After three transformational years at Planned Parenthood Federation of America on their Political & Advocacy teams, Micah struck out on the campaign trail and has worked in fundraising, operations, and field under Democratic standard bearers such as Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, Hillary for America campaign manager Robby Mook, and California US Senator Kamala Harris.</p><p> Micah was recently selected to be in the 2019 Virginia Cohort chosen by the <a href="https://www.newleaderscouncil.org/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">New Leaders  Council (NLC)</a>. She is one of only 20 chosen for the honor in the Commonwealth.</p><p> Micah currently works remotely in Richmond, Virginia as an Account Executive for NGP VAN / EveryAction, a software platform for progressive nonprofits and Democratic campaigns. When not working, you can find her drinking IPAs, boxing, or hiking in the Shenandoahs with her husband and dog.</p><p> Micah says one of the best lessons she has learned in life is that “Everyone can get together and make a difference – you don’t have to be an elected official.”</p><p> She says at Emory & Henry she learned the value of social capital. “Everyone has the right AND the responsibility to make our communities better. You don’t have to be mayor; everyone can do this.”</p><p> Her career started at the Bristol Crisis Center, where she quickly began to see that progress was dependent upon finding civic leaders and elected representatives who share your values for the community. So she reluctantly dipped her toe into the waters of politics by joining a phone bank for Creigh Deeds. </p><p> Micah’s success as a sales executive is anchored in a belief of a stronger world through good leadership. “When it comes to politics, so much is about how we see the world. I learned early on that it doesn’t work to try to tell people their point of view is wrong – or that other people needed to convert to my way of thinking. The best way to move forward is to talk about the kind of world we all wish to live in. Once we start talking about values, we’ll find common ground.”</p><p> Interestingly, one of Micah’s first glimpses of the power of a strong community came through the campus health center at Emory & Henry. “When I was growing up in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee, my family didn’t have consistent access to health care – and we used to joke, ‘Don’t get sick this month!’ At Emory & Henry I had the opportunity for preventative health care and that was a new experience. Once I saw that I could take control of my health, I understood that I could control other parts of my life, as well.” This became part of her motivation for helping get leaders elected who could shepherd good legislation and block laws that didn’t promote a strong community.</p><p> Micah was a first generation college student and says her family was thrilled to see her get a college education. Micah has taken her opportunity for an education and created opportunities for others through stronger communities. She likes to tell people that if they’re not happy with how things are in government to get busy. “I find that the hardest thing to fight is apathy. If you’re unhappy with things, don’t mourn: organize!”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/670-micah-morris" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2057-ed-moorer"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/780,339,2681,2240/4139_030.rev.1525893965.JPG" alt="Ed Moorer E&H Class of 1971." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/780,339,2681,2240/4139_030.rev.1525893965.JPG 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/780,339,2681,2240/4139_030.rev.1525893965.JPG 3x" data-max-w="1901" data-max-h="1901"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2057-ed-moorer"><p> Ed Moorer is having a second career because he’s not finished learning or teaching.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Ed Moorer (’71) knows how to use his sense of humor to engage people. Having been part of the now-famous “Avis Rent-A-Car” ad filmed on the E&H campus in 1969, he jokes that this television debut was the beginning of his fame: “I’ve also done a talk about bird migration on Christian radio, recorded a CD with my college buddies, co-authored a book, and was an extra in the movie ‘Leatherheads.’  I still have time to do something else…I’m just not sure what it is yet!”</p><p> Ed is the site coordinator for Sassafras Mountain Hawkwatch in Pickens, South Carolina, and was named the 2016 Employee of the Year for Table Rock State Park located there. He has worked there for 18 years.</p><p> This is especially notable because he is retired after teaching and coaching in high school for 30 years – physical education, driver education, and coaching football and basketball (“Thanks, Coach Hutton.”). He built a log cabin and found a new passion: the outdoors. He started working part-time at Table Rock State Park in the northern part of South Carolina. He enjoyed greeting and talking with hikers at the nature center who stopped in on their way up the mountain, and he found that his E&H history degree was coming in handy. “This area is rich in history as well as nature and I talk to visitors about the Native Americans and about the Civil War era – all things that E&H professors lectured on while I was a student. (Thanks, Mr. Neal).”</p><p> He is particularly passionate about raptor migration, and is involved with an annual count that documents up to 15 different species as they fly south over the Appalachian Mountains in the fall. Sassafras Mountain is the highest mountain in South Carolina, and the count runs from Labor Day through Thanksgiving. “I have a small group of fellow birders who assist. Information is then entered at hawkcount.org where it becomes part of a much larger database that tells us how well our birds, and environment, are doing on a national and worldwide basis.”</p><p> “I love to be outside and still feel like education is an ongoing process which should be shared with anyone, especially our younger generation.  Find something that you enjoy and make the most of it!  Emory & Henry started my learning and I hope that since then that I have made a difference in somebody’s life that I have encountered.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2057-ed-moorer" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2720-jelani-patterson"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,54,426,480/6497_jelani.rev.1561996179.jpg" alt="Jelani Patterson" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="426" data-max-h="426"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2720-jelani-patterson"><p> Jelani Patterson owns and operates “Exit Strategy” in Charlotte, North Carolina.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Jelani Patterson is a member of the Emory & Henry Class of 2003 and a businessman in Charlotte, North Carolina. He owns and operates “Exit Strategy” – an escape room business where friends and, often, co-workers attempt to find their way out of a locked room by using cryptic clues and hidden hints.</p><p> Jelani was inducted into the Emory & Henry Sports Hall of Fame, in 2018 for his accomplishments as an E&H football player. He played defensive end, and was part of the team that won the ODAC Championship in 2000. He is still in the record books at Emory & Henry for number of sacks in a single season (13) and number of career sacks (28). He was First Team all ODAC, First Team All-American AFCA, and Third Team All-American D3Football.com.</p><p> Jelani is a former police officer for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. He won the chief’s award for graduating at the top of his class: #1 out of 72 recruits.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2720-jelani-patterson" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/683-"><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,33,533,566/322_Victor_Trussell.rev.1499440958.jpg" alt="Victor Trussell" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="533" data-max-h="533"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/683-"><p> Victor Trussell ’13 starting acting on a whim – and now he’s acting professionally.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Victor says he started acting his freshman year of high school, enjoyed it so much he majored in theatre at Emory & Henry, and now he on the stage all the time.</p><p> “I have been performing with a variety of different professional theatre companies since graduation. I have toured the country multiple times with companies like Bright Star Touring Theatre and The National Theatre for Children, both listed by Backstage as ’12 Touring Theater Companies That Make a Difference.’” Not only has acting become his vocation, but he is proud of the impact he is having on school kids.  “These experiences have allowed me to perform for thousands of children, educating them on a range of topics spanning from historical figures like Martin Luther King, Jr. to the importance of energy conservation.”</p><p> His range of theatre involvement shows an amazing array of skills. He has performed with <em>Trumpet in the Land</em>, a historical outdoor drama in New Philadelphia, Ohio, that tells the story of frontier Ohio.  And he has also been in <em>Hairspray</em>, <em>Les Miserables</em>, and even <em>Winnie the Pooh</em>.</p><p> In the summer of 2016, Victor will be performing at the Tecumseh Theater in Ohio doing Shakespeare. “Either <em>The Tempest</em> or <em>Macbeth</em>, or both!”</p><p> Victor is also a playwright. His one-act play <em>Millennial Show</em> has been published in the first edition of <em>Young Scribblers</em>, a publication started by fellow E&H alum Forrest Williams (E&H ’16). “The play, in the form of a variety show, pokes fun at generational stereotypes as well as challenges the ‘problems’ young people face today. Taken from real interviews, <em>Millennial Show</em> also features commentary on related topics addressed within the play.”</p><p> Victor ended up at Emory & Henry because he “loved the intimacy of the campus and classes. I had a ton of hands-on experience in the theatre department.” He is planning to use that experience to keep on writing and performing and inspiring others.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/683-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/838-matt-reedy"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,309,309/727_Matt_Reedy.rev.1506974745.png" alt="Matt Reedy E&H '00" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="309" data-max-h="309"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/838-matt-reedy"><p> We don’t often get to meet a real live hero. So, meet Matt Reedy!</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p style="text-align: left;" align="center"> Matt Reedy (’00) was one of only ten people in the country chosen as a 2017 Community Hero by the ICMA.</p><p style="text-align: left;" align="center"><br/> The award was presented by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). Matt is the Recreation Manager of Centers, Camps, Programs, and Youth Advisory Board for the City of Oak Ridge,Tennessee.</p><p style="text-align: left;" align="center"><br/> The award is part of ICMA’s “Life Well Run” initiative that intends to spotlight local government officials for outstanding work done ethically, efficiently, and effectively. </p><p style="text-align: left;" align="center"><br/> According to the press release, a member of Matt’s Youth Advisory Board had particularly great things to say about his work for the Oak Ridge community:  “As a mentor, Matt believes in each board member more than they believe in themselves… he is always eager to turn the hushed, half-hearted suggestion of a quiet student into action.”<br/><br/></p><p> Matt has been with the City of Oak Ridge for 11 years, and part of his work is making sure local youth learn about governmental processes through participation and service. <br/><br/> Watch for news of a video that ICMA will be making about Matt’s work and his award. Read more about the Community Heroes and the Life, Well Run initiative at ICMA’s website: <a href="http://lifewellrun.org/lwr-recognizes-community-heroes/">lifewellrun.org/lwr-recognizes-community-heroes/</a>.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/838-matt-reedy" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2955-kyle-sensabaugh"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,601,601/6892_Kyle_Sensabaugh_Photo.rev.1568396666.png" alt="Kyle Sensabaugh, E&H Class of 2014" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="601" data-max-h="601"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2955-kyle-sensabaugh"><p> Kyle Sensabaugh is a Director for People, Inc. – and says he’s forever grateful to Emory & HEnry.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Kyle is a native of Columbus, Ohio and now resides in Glade Spring, Virginia. He came to E&H in 2009 as a first-year student and athlete, and eventually made Southwest Virginia his home.</p><p> Upon graduation, he accepted his first job as the Head Assistant Basketball Coach at Emory & Henry. He was then offered a position as an Assistant Store Manager at Lowe’s (home improvement) – a job he held for four years.</p><p> He is currently employed with People Incorporated of Virginia as the Director of Housing Services. He started this job in 2017, and says he owes much of his success to his E&H degree, and he loves that his career allows him to make a difference for people. “My position consists of finding affordable homes for clients, giving aid to current homeless individuals, helping to prevent individuals from becoming homeless, weatherization services for under income individuals, under income home ownership programs, and voucher programs for section 8.”</p><p>                 Kyle is proud of the fact that he was a Bonner Scholar at Emory & Henry. “Bonner gave me a true appreciation and respect for community service. I enjoyed all the sites I worked with and loved the rewarding feeling of helping others. That same experience drove me towards my passion for my job now. I had great relationships with several of my professors and peers, that allowed me to network within this community. Those networking opportunities, took me down numerous paths from finding employment, building stronger community relationships, and finding a place that I call home. I was never a strong student before coming to Emory & Henry College, and the atmosphere and resources there changed that for me. I never had an issue getting the help I needed, the encouragement, or someone to take the time to see my situation through. Without E&H and the Bonner Scholars program, I can honestly say I would not be working with People, Inc. today.  I am forever grateful and forever an advocate for the college.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2955-kyle-sensabaugh" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1841-linda-coutant"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,96,2133,2227/3317_LindaCoutant2018.rev.1519076778.jpg" alt="Dr. Linda Coutant" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" srcset="/live/image/scale/2x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,96,2133,2227/3317_LindaCoutant2018.rev.1519076778.jpg 2x, /live/image/scale/3x/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,96,2133,2227/3317_LindaCoutant2018.rev.1519076778.jpg 3x" data-max-w="2133" data-max-h="2131"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/1841-linda-coutant"><p> Linda Coutant is senior editor and writer in the communications office at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><div class="gmail_extra"><div class="gmail_quote"><div id="m_-4766316923025457948m_6126689255754143167pseudoBody"> Dr. Linda Coutant completed her Doctor of Education degree (Ed.D.) in educational leadership in May 2017 at Appalachian State University, with a research focus on the use of mindfulness and other contemplative practices in higher education.  </div><div/><div> In December 2017, her research was published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Contemplative Inquiry with the title “The Mindful Campus: Organizational Structure and Culture.”  </div><div/><div> She is senior editor/writer in University Communications at Appalachian State University and teaches journalism as an adjunct instructor in the University’s Department of Communication. </div><div/></div></div></div><a href="/live/profiles/1841-linda-coutant" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2881-krista-dover"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/76,0,464,387/6710_Krista_dover_2_2.rev.1565367314.jpg" alt="Krista Dover, E&H '08, standing in a stream." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="388" data-max-h="387"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2881-krista-dover"><p> Krista Dover is the executive director for Clean Water for the World.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> Dreams of a great office usually include thoughts of a corner view or antique furnishings. Krista Dover got an office where location is key: she’s in Guatemala.</p><p> As the Executive Director for Clean Water for the World (CWFW), Krista loves being near some of the very people who are served by her work. “The people are great and the countryside is beautiful.”</p><p> The story of CWFW is pretty cool: Jerry and Judy Bohl had been doing community work in marginalized communities in developing nations and they noticed volunteers were given bottled water while children living in the community were drinking contaminated water from the tap. This led to the Bohls  developing  a small-sized water purifier that could be used in communities without potable water.</p><p> Krista is now the person in charge of this organization that seeks to provide clean water, and she says her job is part fundraiser, part educator, part sales person. She helps communities understand the need for installing the purifier, she aids in explaining how the equipment should be used, and, of course, she’s always raising money to put the systems in place.</p><p> In fact, in the spring of 2019, Krista worked with then E&H Senior, Brice Quillen (Class of 2019) to organize a “Walk for Water” on the E&H campus to raise awareness for the cause and money for the mission.</p><p> Worldwide, the organization has installed nearly 300 systems in only 10 years, mostly in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Haiti.</p><p> Krista began a career of service to others as a US2 Global Mission Intern through the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries.  In 2016 she wrote a book on farms in Guatemala, and traveled back to her alma mater to do a lyceum on the topic.</p><p> Now she lives in the very place she is working to serve, and she loves the work she’s doing. She  has seen first-hand what a difference clean water can make not only to individuals, but also to a community.</p><p> Krista doesn’t have to walk farther than her own sink to be reminded of why her work is important. “How many times a day do we go to the tap for a drink of water, and think nothing of it. That’s just not how it is for everyone.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2881-krista-dover" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/1746-cathy-cuskey-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" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="334" data-max-h="333"/></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/2381-william-allen"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,21,240,261/4965_William_Allen.rev.1540587584.png" alt="William Allen, E&H Class of 1980." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="240" data-max-h="240"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2381-william-allen"><p> William Allen turned an education in science into a career in law.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> William Allen (E&H ’80) is a partner with the Thompson Hine law firm in Cincinnati. His work is in the firm’s Intellectual Property practice, and he counsels clients on an array of patent and trademark issues, helping them manage, protect, and capitalize on their IP assets. He prepares and prosecutes domestic and international patent and trademark applications, conducts due diligence, prepares legal opinions, and represents clients’ interests in post-grant review proceedings.<br/><br/> Prior to practicing law, William spent over a decade as a laboratory physicist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He also served as an adjunct professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Department at the University of Tennessee.<br/><br/> William holds a Ph.D. in physics and a B.S. in physics and mathematics. He has wide-ranging experience in electrical, mechanical, and materials technologies including semiconductor device fabrication and integrated circuits, travel industry software, cosmetic surgery instruments and procedures, medical devices, metalworking tools and processes, automated pharmacy systems, pharmaceutical packaging, wind turbines, e-commerce and business methods, tires and tire-making equipment, integrated circuit processing tools, X-ray and optical inspection equipment, and flat panel displays and signage. While a physics professional, he co-authored several articles published in scientific journals.<br/><br/> William received his J.D. degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.<br/> He was selected in 2018 and 2019 for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Northern Kentucky University Research Foundation. William is married to Kathryn Allen, owner of the luxury handbag and accessory business Kathryn Allen Couture.<br/><br/> William says his E&H years prepared him for the work he’s doing now by “educating me in physics, chemistry, and mathematics to furnish a sound and comprehensive foundation for professional careers in both science and law.”</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/2381-william-allen" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/155-"><img src="/live/image/gid/2/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,450,490/27_abe1975e59116cf763b1821b22668003_f74661.rev.1491319536.jpg" alt="Dr. Ken Noe poses with one of his Auburn grad students, Peter Thomas (E&H, '08). In addition ..." class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="450" data-max-h="490"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/155-"><p> Dr. Ken Noe ’79 Writing Book on the Weather’s Impact on the American Civil War</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><p> When Dr. Ken Noe (’79) was growing up in Elliston he remembers that weather played a huge role in the work done on his grandfather’s farm. “If rain was coming, we dropped everything else to put up hay.” He thinks this experience planted a seed in the back of his mind about the impactful influence of weather. Later, his interest in weather grew when he took a geography course at Emory & Henry with Dr. Ed Bingham.</p><p> But even he could never have predicted that he would now be writing a two-volume book on weather’s impact on the American Civil War.</p><p> Ken is the Draughon Professor of Southern History at Auburn University. He is the author or editor of seven books, and he has published scads of articles, essays and chapters about the Civil War. He is a decorated history professor serving at West Georgia College before heading to Auburn. He was a Pulitzer Prize entrant and won the 2003 Kentucky Governor’s award, the 2002 Peter Seaborg Book Award for Civil War Non-fiction, and the 1997 Tennessee History Book Award. He has won several teaching awards, has served as president of the Alabama Historical Association, and is serving on the Advisory Board of the Society of Civil War Historians. He has even been a consultant for the NBC series <em>Who Do You Think You Are? </em></p><p> But in all his prolific writing and research and publishing even he is surprised that his biggest and most industrious work to-date will be about weather.  “Meteorologists are still trying to work out why the weather during the Civil War was so unusual. They dealt with incredibly snowy and rainy winters and droughts in the summer that affected Southern food supplies. There were dust storms, flooded rivers, and only two hurricanes. It had a profound effect on many campaigns.”</p><p> His research on weather has already taken several years, and he still has a few years left before he publishes. And even he was amazed to realize just how much information he had accumulated. “Very little has been written about Civil War environmental history. It is only now becoming part of the conversation about Civil War history.”  </p><p> Ken says that even in a field of study like Civil War history where so many things have been written, there is still new area for research and a lot of topics that haven’t been covered.  He has grad students asking new questions about the role of religion, the prison industries during the war, the role of friendship, and one young man, who is an E&H grad, is looking into camp life.</p><p> Even though we have just passed the 150^th anniversary of the American Civil War, Ken points out that this conflict still has implications for current events; and he marvels that most conversations over the past 18 months have quickly moved from history to current topics like the Confederate flag, U.S. prisons, and race relations. He says his field has gotten so tangled with politics that there is a declining interest in Civil War history among the public. “But this event still has much to teach us. It was a great turning point in American History and opened up questions that are still being answered about equality of humankind, the status of women, states’ rights. I don’t know how we can answer all these questions unless we go back to the beginning.” He consistently stresses to his students the importance of going back to primary source information rather than depending on how the stories have been told and passed down.</p><p> Ken actually majored in education at Emory & Henry and still remembers panicking when he realized he didn’t want to be a junior high school teacher. “I had a lot of electives leftover and started taking history classes late in my college experience. I realized what I wanted to be was a historian and teach at a higher level.” A conversation with Patsi Trollinger (’72) reassured him that most alumni do not stick to work within their major. And a conversation with Dr. Gene Rasor in the history department led to a phone call which ended with Dr. Rasor telling Ken he had an interview with the history department at Virginia Tech.</p><p> The rest, as they say, is history.</p></div><a href="/live/profiles/155-" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>
• <span class="lw_item_thumb"><a href="/live/profiles/2122-gabrielle-gregory"><img src="/live/image/gid/68/width/345/height/225/crop/1/src_region/0,0,316,316/4237_gg.rev.1529087746.jpg" alt="Gabby Gregory is a 2018 E&H Graduate" class="lw_image" width="345" height="225" data-max-w="316" data-max-h="316"/></a></span><div class="lw_widget_text"><h4 class="lw_profiles_headline"><a href="/live/profiles/2122-gabrielle-gregory"><p> Gabby Gregory’s great internship led to a great job offer.</p></a></h4><div class="lw_profiles_description"><div> Gabby Gregory is a 2018 E&H graduate who added some additional education to her degree by heading to New York University the summer after graduation. She entered their 6-weeks long Summer Publishing Institute right before heading to Stuart, Florida, for a job with Ocean Media Solutions. She’ll be writing for their Living Magazines. She also did her internship with Ocean Media.<br/></div><div id="m_1151371537258667902yahoo_quoted_8493402470" class="m_1151371537258667902yahoo_quoted"><div id="m_1151371537258667902yiv7151432304"><div dir="ltr"><div/><div> Gabby was an English major at Emory & Henry, earning a degree in Pre-Professional Publishing. She was active in Pi Sigma Kappa social sorority, Blue Key Honor Society, Pi Gamma Mu, Peer Educators, the Frostiana Poetry Society, Sigma Tau Delta, and Phi Eta Sigma. She was also an honors program scholar, student government senator, and writing tutor. She founded A Read of Our Own, which is a feminist activist book club on campus. </div><div><br/> She says her E&H experience gave her the confidence to trust her education and move to a new city and state to start her career. “I learned so much not only from the faculty and staff of the college, but also from my fellow students. I made both amazing professional connections and wonderful, lasting friendships during my time at E&H. Because of the community-minded culture of E&H, I was able to work one-on-one with my favorite professor, and gained incredible knowledge from her that directly led to my successes beyond my undergraduate career. I cannot imagine myself today without my experience at Emory & Henry College. I will always have a deep love and respect for those hills in Virginia, and hope to go to as many Homecomings as possible as an alumna! Emory & Henry will always be my home away from home.” </div><div/><div><div/><div>   </div><div/></div><div/></div></div></div></div><a href="/live/profiles/2122-gabrielle-gregory" class="link-with-arrow gold">Keep reading</a></div>