spring-2019

Building thefuture

String Project Makes Music Affordable for Local Families

Wilkie Becomes First NGU Alum to Earn PA Degree, Too Campus News

NGU to use $3 Million Donation for Ministry Scholarships

CrossExamined: Music Stars Shine Light on ‘Ministry’ at NGU

My Wonderful, Terrifying Journey at NGU’s Writers Conference

Alford’s Got the Need for Speed Alumni Notes

On the Cover:

NGU expands adult campus in greer page 14

“1892” is published twice annually by North Greenville University, a private Christian liberal arts university often recognized as one of the most notable in the Southeast. Whether learning at our campuses in Tigerville, SC, and Greer, SC, or online from anywhere in the world, NGU students become equipped to serve as transformational leaders for church and society.

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Kristin Clardy (’18)

Derek Eckenroth

EDITOR

Celeste Hawkins (’11)

DESIGNER

Sheila Price (’08)

Rebeka Epps

LaVerne Howell

Jennifer Lynch

Ashley Merck (expected ’19)

Alex Reynolds (’10)

CONTRIBUTORS

Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr.

Robbie Gawrys (’09)

Celeste Hawkins (’11)

LaVerne Howell

PROOFREADERS

Haley Gambrell (’07)

Bree Joplin (expected ’19)

ADVISORS

Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr.

Rich Grimm

Jennifer Lynch

Marty O’Gwynn

Keli Sewell (’89)

Erin Wall (’00, MBA ’07)

To share your feedback for this issue of the magazine, story ideas, or updated contact information, visit ngu.edu/magazine.

PRESIDENT ’ S MESSAGE

My father is an inveterate prankster, and his gentle demeanor often masks his tricks.

Our longtime next-door neighbor, Bill, once planted a couple of pecan trees between our houses and remarked, “It will take years for these trees to yield nuts. You plant them for the future, not the present.”

Dad took this as an opportunity for a prank. The next year, during nut season, he sprinkled pecans from the store on the ground and watched to see the neighbor’s reaction. Bill picked up a few nuts, looked up in the tree, looked on the ground and saw more pecans, and then kept walking around, trying to figure out what was happening.

What he was missing was the prankster pastor, stealthily sipping coffee on his back porch!

North Greenville’s founders planted our campus for the future back in 1892. They had no idea what that future might look like, but they were optimists: they believed in God’s providence and in the transformational power of a Christ-first education. They may have planted a boarding school, but in reality, they had founded a university!

They built for the future, a future they did not yet know. Christ, however, knew!

Today, North Greenville University is an institution with a vibrant and optimistic future. In Tigerville, we continue to prepare traditional-aged students for a wide variety of fields. In Greer and online, we focus on empowering adults and professionals to take the next step in their career path.

But NGU is not just about our places; it’s about our people. We are a community of faculty, staff, students, and so many others who seek to serve God in every aspect of what we do. We are co-laborers in His work, as He weaves the redemptive plan He has prepared from the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3-4). And as we each live out our callings as servant-leaders, we are shaping the future for our churches and our communities.

Together, we are building a future that serves the Christ who makes the difference!

Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr.

President North Greenville University

String Project Makes Music Affordable for Local Families

Gone are the days when the only kids in Greenville, SC, learning to play music were the ones in families with enough spare cash to fork out $400-plus for a new instrument and $50 an hour for private lessons.

North Greenville University and Kroc Center Greenville have jumpstarted a new partnership that offers stringed instrument lessons to local grade school children for less than a visit to McDonald’s.

Officially launched in September 2018, the NGU/Kroc String Project started its inaugural season with 20 elementary students and four current NGU students, who teach the children how to play stringed instruments, such as the violin, cello, or bass.

“The elementary students are learning and mastering their posture, instrument positions, and bow holds,” says String Project Director Dr. Michael Weaver, who also serves as the coordinator for the string program at NGU. “They are plucking their A and D strings, learning their note names, and playing through notes D, E, F#, and G.”

The students also begin by practicing their up-bows and downbows in the air, “stirring the pot” and “spider crawling” up and down the bow, adds Weaver.

Weaver says the music teachers, meanwhile, are learning what they know and don’t know about teaching, as well as what they love about the path they have chosen and the students they teach — with all the “hugs and high fives” that go with it.

“My favorite part about working at the String Project is seeing all the students progress. [They] get so happy when they have learned a new skill,” says Katelyn LaDue (expected ’21).

NGU undergraduates who, like LaDue, are studying in the Cline School of Music volunteer with the String Project to gain handson classroom teaching experiences. While the project is under the guidance of Master Teacher Dr. Anne Mathews, these NGU student instructors assist with every lesson.

Through hands-on teaching experiences with children in the community who enroll in the program, NGU’s undergraduate students become better prepared for their future careers.

“Working at the String Project is not a requirement, but I would highly recommend it,” LaDue adds. “I have learned different ways to teach students the same technique.”

In the process, the children develop good work habits, improve their ability to collaborate in groups, and enjoy the opportunity to study music. At the same time, their parents benefit from an affordable opportunity to provide high-caliber music lessons to their children.

The NGU/Kroc program — one of 40 similar programs offered by universities and colleges nationwide through the National String Project Consortium, but one of only two programs offered in South Carolina — is designed to help alleviate the long-term shortage of string instrument teachers in the United States by encouraging undergraduate music majors to become public school music teachers upon graduation, while also expanding the accessibility of music education to young children.

Due to an early gift from former local business owner Jim Clinton, NGU’s String Project has the potential to reach even more area students.

Clinton first began playing music himself in the fourth grade at J.L. Noble Elementary School in Altoona, PA. To this day, he remembers not being able to play the violin in the orchestra back then because the waiting list for a school-provided instrument was so long. He picked up the alto saxophone instead.

Eventually, through private lessons much later in life, Clinton learned how to play the cello and even how to repair instruments like it. He set up shop at Jim Clinton Violins in Taylors, SC, in 2002. That’s where he met Weaver.

“As the string program coordinator for NGU, and as a private violin and viola instructor, I needed to know where I could get the university’s instruments and my students’ instruments repaired and serviced,” Weaver says.

Weaver mentioned the startup of the String Project on one of his visits, and Clinton took interest; when he decided to close his business last July to change careers, Clinton donated his remaining 40 stringed instruments, valued at $73,000, to the cause. These instruments are now being used by the NGU String Project.

“I cannot think of a better way to end this career than by helping out the community,” Clinton says.

Weaver says this is a substantial gift to the String Project. The donation has allowed more students to participate in the program. Since tuition for the String Project is only $10 or less per week, providing the students with an instrument makes the opportunity even more affordable for Greenville County families.

“One of our goals is to reach out to the underserved community in Greenville to ensure that all students have equal opportunity to grow their natural gifts and talents in strings,” Weaver says. “These instruments will allow us to do that.”

Learn more at ngu.edu/stringproject

Wilkie Becomes First NGU Alum to Earn PA Degree, Too

For Kathryn Allen Wilkie (’16, MMS ’18), North Greenville University’s Fall 2018 commencement was a landmark day.

As Wilkie walked across the stage with over 200 other Crusaders, she signified the birth of a new set of NGU alumni: hers was the first graduating class in the physician assistant (PA) medicine program. What’s more, Wilkie became the first NGU undergraduate alum to graduate from the new program, launched in 2017.

“I don’t think I could be any more ecstatic than I am right now,” Wilkie said at graduation. “The day I have dreamt about and worked so hard for, for many years, has finally arrived.”

Even though Wilkie didn’t always dream of becoming a physician assistant, exactly, the clues were there early on.

“It is no surprise that most people who work in healthcare have Type A personalities: there are numerous rules and regulations, things are black and white, and plans are made for following to a T. Well, I meet the stereotype,” she admits.

For example, when she was in sixth grade, she made the plan to become a physical therapist someday. From that moment on, she was extremely focused on doing whatever it took to follow that career path — to a T. At NGU, she studied biology.

“My senior year of undergrad, I applied for physical therapy school without a shadow of a doubt that I would be accepted,” she remembers.

A few months later, however, Wilkie heard back that she’d been waitlisted.

“I was honestly heartbroken because I had worked so hard to get to that point,” Wilkie says.

Around the same time, Wilkie learned that NGU was starting a PA program. Classes at NGU’s T. Walter Brashier Graduate School for the new Master of Medical Science degree would begin in January 2017, the spring after her graduation.

But instead of pursuing that opportunity, Wilkie said she “wallowed in self-pity” and became frustrated with God.

“I did not understand why things were not going how I had planned,” she remembers.

After graduation, Wilkie learned from a friend about an opening in an emergency department for a medical scribe. She took the position, hoping to add more healthcare experience to her resume.

Her first night on the job, she was assigned to work with a PA.

“I’ll never forget that night because it was the moment I fell in love with medicine,” she says.

After that, Wilkie started pursuing a career as a PA and never looked back. She applied for NGU’s PA medicine program, along with more than 500 other applicants, and snagged one of the only 20 available spots.

Wilkie says this story is important because it reminds her that God uses even disappointments to “make all things work together for our good.”

“If it hadn’t been for the heartbreak of not being accepted into physical therapy school, I would have missed out on a career I love,” she explains.

For the past two years, Wilkie has worked hard to advance through NGU’s PA program, which consists of 131 semester hours of graduate work divided into three phases: the preclinical Didactic Phase, the Clinical Phase of supervised clinical education, and the Summative Phase.

“We have had an entire clinical year that has allowed us to work in various disciplines of medicine throughout the state. These experiences have taught me more than I could have ever imagined and have made me a well-rounded and knowledgeable future provider,” she says.

Today, she highly recommends NGU’s program to any student who wishes to pursue a career in PA medicine.

“My favorite thing about the program is the class size. Whenever I was struggling with a topic or concept, all the professors were readily available to me,” she says.

In fact, she has nothing but accolades for NGU’s PA program.

“You would be hard-pressed to find another university [with] faculty that cares about their students as much as ours do,” she says. “They have worked so hard to ensure we have the materials and the knowledge to succeed in school and our future medical careers.”

Wilkie was the first of three NGU grads to be accepted into the university’s PA medicine program. Alex Holsonback (’16) from Clinton, SC, is a member of the Class of 2019, and Isabella Brechbill (’18) from Newark, OH, is one of the 30 students enrolled — out of over 800 applicants — in the incoming Class of 2020.

When they finish the program, NGU alumni like them will help meet the growing PA workforce needs in the Upstate and beyond.

That’s a task Wilkie says she feels prepared for and “confident” she can do.

Learn more at ngu.edu/pa-medicine

"THE GREAT DIVORCE" Theatre

SEPT. 26-28, 2019

OCT. 3-5, 2019

OPEN HOUSE

Admissions

SEPT. 28, 2019

NOV. 9, 2019

OVERNIGHT AT NGU

Admissions

OCT. 10-11, 2019

NOV. 21-22, 2019

HOMECOMING

OCT. 25-26, 2019

"MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY" Theatre

NOV. 14-16, 2019 NOV. 21-23, 2019

For more campus events, visit ngu.edu/calendar.

CAMPUS NEWS

ADMINISTRATION

Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr., NGU president, and Dr. Nathan Finn, provost and dean of the university faculty, are among the 120 notable Christian scholars who wrote over 130 articles for B&H Publishing Group’s recently released Christian Standard Bible (CSB) Worldview Study Bible. The Bible features extensive worldview study notes and scholastic articles to help Christians better understand the grand narrative and flow of Scripture. Guided by general editors Dr. David Dockery, president of Trinity International University and Fant’s inauguration speaker, and Trevin Wax, reference publisher for LifeWay Christian Resources, this Bible is a resource and study tool to help the reader discuss, defend, and clearly share with others the truth, hope, and practical compatibility of Christianity in everyday life.

Dr. Linwood Hagin has been promoted to associate provost for undergraduate programs and academic administration. Hagin was most recently dean of the College of Communication at NGU. Since 2015, he has also been the associate vice president of academics. In addition to his duties in the Office of Academics, he will be interacting more with NGU’s undergraduate college deans for curriculum and budgetary matters. Hagin worked eight years in radio news and management before beginning his academic career. He previously served on the faculty of six universities before coming to NGU in 1999.

Dr. Ken Hemphill, director of the Center for Church Planting and Revitalization and special assistant to the president, has been appointed to Southwest Baptist University’s Peer Assessment Committee to discuss faith, learning, and orthodoxy.

Dr. Larry McDonald has been promoted to associate provost for graduate programs and dean of the T. Walter Brashier Graduate School at NGU. He also continues to serve as the director of the Doctor of Ministry program and a professor of Christian spirituality at NGU, as well as taking on the position of interim pastor for local churches. He and his wife have led short-term mission trips for many years, including eight trips to Uganda. Recently, McDonald was published in the two-volume work, “The Legacy of Preaching: The Life, Theology, and Method of History’s Great Preachers,” in which he authored the chapter on the preaching of John Bunyan. In addition, McDonald was a featured contributor to a “Church Executive Magazine” roundtable discussion on the topic “Leadership Training Options for Pastors,” printed in the September 2018 issue.

Dr. Jill Rayburn, former director of academic engagement and outreach, has been named NGU’s assistant provost for academic outreach and director of professional programs. In this role, Rayburn will continue to be responsible for coordinating community outreach on behalf of NGU’s Office of Academics, as well as developing and implementing strategic academic initiatives with an emphasis on professional programs. First joining NGU as an adjunct professor in the College of Business and Sport Professions in 2009, Rayburn was hired full-time in 2017 as the director of academic engagement and outreach, where she worked on providing entrepreneurial leadership to develop and expand professional certificate programs and continuing education, as well as pursuing corporate, denominational, and nonprofit partnerships in educational community engagement opportunities.

Rachael Russiaky has been named vice president for Student Services at NGU. This position will oversee a new university division to be referred to as the Office of Students Services, which will include financial aid, student accounts, academic records, and NGUcentral, a newly created one-stop service center. Russiaky is a seasoned higher education leader who comes to NGU from Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL, where she served for more than a decade, including as associate vice president of student services since 2014.

ATHLETICS

Jayne Arledge, former head women’s basketball coach and current senior women’s administrator, was inducted into NGU’s Athletic Hall of Fame in January 2019. Arledge began her coaching career at North Greenville in 1981, serving as the coach for the women’s basketball team and the volleyball team. Her stint as volleyball coach ended in 1996, but not before notching five Coach of the Year nods, two Region X Tournament titles, two conference titles, and two trips to the National Junior College Athletic Association national tournament. Her tenure as women’s basketball coach was even more decorated, as she guided the Crusaders to three Western Carolinas Junior Colleges championships, three National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) Southeast Region championships, and four NCCAA tournament appearances, including a second-place finish in 2005. Over the years, Arledge coached seven All-Americans, six Academic All-Americans, and four All-Tournament players.

Andy Robinson, head women’s soccer coach and director of the new NGU Nike Soccer Camp, was named Coach of the Year by Conference Carolinas for the second year in a row.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Dr. John Duncan has been named founding dean of the College of Business and Entrepreneurship at NGU, a new college that consolidates NGU’s undergraduate and graduate business programs — including the accounting, business administration, international business, and marketing majors, as well as the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. Prior to taking this role, Duncan served as associate dean of the College of Business at Anderson University. He also previously served as dean of the School of Business at Charleston Southern University; assistant professor of accounting at the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM); and dean of the School of Business at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, MS. Duncan holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and an MBA from ULM, and he received his doctorate in accountancy from the University of Mississippi. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in South Carolina and a Certified Kingdom Advisor.

COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS

Dr. Brent Coppenbarger (Cline School of Music) and his wife, Sonja Condit Coppenbarger, presented a faculty recital at NGU on Oct. 1, 2018. The recital was repeated on Oct. 4 at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville, SC.

Dr. David Cudd (Cline School of Music) has designed drills for 27 high school marching bands that went on to become state champions. His role as a marching band drill designer is to instruct every musician where to stand, when to move, and how to move, which he does by generat-

CAMPUS NEWS (CONT’D)

ing designs using special software called Pyware 3D. Depending on the size of the band, which can range from 40 to 140 student musicians, Cudd averages between one week and one month for laying out a new design. Last summer alone, he designed drills for 15 different schools across South Carolina. Two of those schools — Pickens High School and Easley High School — won the title of 2018 South Carolina Band Director's Association state champions.

Carol Godfrey (Cline School of Music) has been hired as an adjunct professor to instruct students in elementary music methods at NGU. Godfrey is a National Board Certified Master Teacher.

Dr. Jackie Griffin (Cline School of Music) served as an Advanced Placement (AP) reader in Cincinnati, OH, in June 2018 for the AP Music Theory exam. Each summer, the Educational Testing Service brings high school AP teachers and college professors together for an intensive week of grading these exams taken by high school students in order to earn college credit.

COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES

Dr. Ben Coates (Modern Languages and Linguistics Department) presented his paper “A Glance Behind the Curtain of La Censura: The Publication of 'Últimas Tardes con Teresa,’” at the Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville on Oct. 5, 2018. The paper highlights one of Coates’ research interests: the process authors had to endure in order to achieve publication during the strong censorship of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, whose regime began at the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 and ended with his death in 1975.

The English Department’s literary and art magazine, “The Mountain Laurel,” has had another banner year. Its 2018 volume, “Voices,” earned a Gold Medalist rating, along with All-Columbian Honors for Overall Design, from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA). In addition, two student submissions in “Voices” won individual recognition from CSPA by earning Gold Circle Awards.

Garry Smith, South Carolina representative and adjunct political science professor at NGU, recently attended the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) State and Nation Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. Rep. Smith was honored for his four years of service as the ALEC’s public sector chairman of the Communications and Technology Task Force.

Dr. H. Paul Thompson, Jr., has become the founding dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences at NGU. The new college includes the School of Humanities, offering academic programs in English, history, linguistics, and modern languages; the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, offering criminal justice and legal studies, political science, and psychology; and the School of Science and Mathematics, offering biology, chemistry, computer science, health sciences, math, and physical science. The college also houses the interdisciplinary studies program. In addition to this new role, Thompson has also been named to the board of the Phillis Wheatley Association in Greenville, SC.

COLLEGE OF WELLNESS AND SPORT PROFESSIONS

Dr. Jeff Briggs has been named the founding dean of the new College of Wellness and Sport Professions at NGU. The new college includes three undergraduate degree programs: sport management, with concentrations in business, coaching, and ministry; physical education; and outdoor leadership. Briggs serves as NGU’s faculty athletic representative, cochairs the annual Marion Moorhead Homecoming Classic Golf Tournament, and co-chairs the annual Faith at Work Business Symposium.

NGU’s College of Wellness and Sport Professions and College of Education have announced the establishment of the Bachelor of Science in Physical Education, implemented in the Spring 2019 semester. The new degree program enables students to integrate academic discipline, Christian lifestyle, and an enriched cultural experience through an academically rigorous course of study that leads to state certification. Specifically, this program prepares students to teach physical education in elementary, middle, and secondary school systems in South Carolina.

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Dr. Ed Sherbert, who serves as a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) educator and ambassador, has worked to revise the curriculum for each of NGU’s five graduate-level human resources (HR) courses offered in connection with the Human Resource Professional certificate and the Master of Business Administration (MBA) with an HR concentration degree program. These changes better reflect the best practices and strategies in the field and align with the SHRM Competency Model. With a focus on workforce planning and employment, selection and retention, global and strategic HR, and employee and labor relations, the curriculum update offers a foundation for preparation for the SHRM’s Certified Professional (CP) and Senior Certified Professional (SCP) certification exams.

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF CHRISTIAN MINISTRY

Dr. Matt Wireman planted a church — Christ the Redeemer of Greenville, SC — in September 2017, first meeting in homes and later in a hotel conference room. The church recently found a new home in the former Brandon United Methodist Church building, located in the shadow of Brandon Mills, once a plant that churned out sheets of fabric, gauze, and parachute cords used during World War II. The church building dates back to 1906. On one side is the former mill, now home to luxury lofts. On the other side, the old mill homes remain. Wireman hopes the new church can straddle those lines, inviting in people from the luxury developments, downtown, and the historic nearby neighborhood. Services began at the new location on Oct. 7, 2018.

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Dr. Harold Long is now the director of NGU’s Center for Educational Leadership and Research, a new initiative dedicated to the advanced study of leadership, research, and capacity building.

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MUSIC EDUCATION

Dr. Marianne Holland was featured in a publication of FBN Productions Inc. from Columbia, SC, which is celebrating 25 years of bringing opera to students in the Southeast. Holland, one of FBN’s first and most dedicated supporters, shared her experiences with the company throughout her over 50 years in music education.

Brashiers Boost NGU’s Ministry Scholarships

A $3 million donation to North Greenville University from Dr. T. Walter “Walt” and Christine Brashier will provide scholarships for aspiring church leaders and family members of those currently in ministry.

The Brashiers’ gift, announced in Spring 2019, will be divided between two scholarship funds offered at NGU: the T. Walter Brashier and Family Scholarship Fund and the T. Walter Brashier Family Christian Ministry Graduate Scholarship Fund.

Established in 1998, the T. Walter Brashier and Family Scholarship Fund was originally available only for undergraduate students pursuing church-related ministries. Recently, however, the scholarship has been amended to include assistance for dependents of pastors, ministers, and other church-based staff. According to the scholarship guidelines, preference is given to students from Upstate South Carolina, in particular.

The T. Walter Brashier Family Christian Ministry Graduate Scholarship Fund, on the other hand, is a new endowment intended to provide financial support for graduate-level students who are studying in NGU’s Graduate School of Christian Ministry. The school features Master of Arts in Christian Ministry, Master of Divinity, and Doctor of Ministry degree programs, which prepare students to lead in a variety of ministry settings.

“Dr. Brashier is one of the most strategic business leaders I’ve ever known, and his strategic passion for helping students pursue a Christ-centered education is inspiring,” says NGU President Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr. “He continues to generate a lasting legacy at this university.”

In fact, the Brashiers have been longtime supporters of NGU. Their

first commitment was a downtown office building in the 1970s. Since that time, they have started undergraduate and graduate scholarships at NGU; supported several capital projects; served on several university committees, boards, and councils; and even provided the lead gift to start the T. Walter Brashier Graduate School.

In 2016, the Brashiers went on to lead the university in the launch of what is now the Tim Brashier Campus at Greer, which houses NGU’s adult, online, and graduate programs, including the new physician assistant (PA) medicine program.

The ministry scholarships created by the Brashier family’s latest gift will be available to assist students who are entering NGU as early as the Fall 2019 semester.

Learn more about NGU’s scholarship opportunities at ngu.edu/financial-aid.

Music Stars SHINE LIGHT on ‘Ministry’ at NGU

Four big-name musicians who attended North Greenville University returned to campus last fall to share their perspective on music ministry — an occasion that drew a crowd full of students and aspiring musicians.

This special Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM) event, the first in a series titled CrossExamined, featured a panel discussion with several successful artists in genres ranging from praise and worship to rock and roll.

“In this new series, we ask questions to people who have faith in Jesus Christ and are working full-time in the ministry we’re examining, which in this case was music,” says Joshua Gilmore (’05, MACM ’07), director of BCM at NGU. “The hope is that we can equip everyone in how to think as a Christian about these different areas of ministry.”

Gilmore, in fact, attended NGU with all four of the now full-time musicians who participated in the panel: Mikey Carvajal, lead vocalist with alternative metal band Islander; Seth Condrey, a Dove Award-winning Christian artist; Charlee Buitrago (’05) of NewSpring Worship; and Jacob Johnson, independent guitarist and singer-songwriter.

NGU was Poetry Writing with Dr. Gregory Bruce.

“We would make coffee and move all the seats out of the way in the room, and we would turn off the lights and turn on Christmas lights and sit there and read poetry. . . . Writing poetry together and getting our thoughts out in a way that was more of an artistic expression was something that really helped me,” Carvajal remembers. “That class was weird enough to make me feel like I could be creative and worship God.”

Even though his band isn’t in the Christian music industry, Carvajal feels that music is his way of serving the Lord, he said in the panel.

“Whatever you do in this life — whether it’s serving at a restaurant, if it’s being an astronaut . . . do it as a witness to people. And [because] you’re serving [Jesus],” Carvajal shared.

Condrey agreed to the impact Bruce had on him. He remembered he was “dealing with a faith crisis” during his time as a Christian studies major at NGU, but Bruce and Dr. Bill Murray both came alongside him.

for the song “Death Was Arrested,” serving at North Point Community Church.

Condrey admitted in the panel that the church, where most of his music ministry happens, can be “a great place to hide.” He says he must still make a “daily decision” to be with Jesus.

CROSS EXAMINED

They all have more than a decade of experience to draw from in answering the question “How do you minister through music?”

After studying interdisciplinary studies at NGU, Carvajal — with his band Islander — signed his first record label in 2013. With two EPs and two studio albums under its belt, the band has shared stages with similar rock groups, such as Papa Roach and Linkin Park. In the panel, he said the class that most helped him develop as an artist and a Christian at

“[They] saw me searching creatively and also with my relationship with Christ, and they leaned in . . . [and] allowed me to explore questions,” he mentioned. “That’s what happened here for me.”

After his time at NGU, Condrey recorded his first worship album, “My All,” in 2004. He’s since released four more, earning a Gospel Music Association (GMA) Dove Award for Spanish Language Album of the Year in 2008 for “De Corazon a Corazon.” Today, he’s a prominent worship leader, perhaps best known

“We just need more kingdom kids, whatever we’re doing, wherever we are, taking the light,” Condrey said.

As Condrey’s co-writer for the album, Buitrago shared in the success of his Dove Award for “De Corazon a Corazon.” He is now an artist with NewSpring Worship, continuing to write worship songs in Spanish. He released his latest album, “Poderoso,” in 2018.

Buitrago first came to NGU to play soccer. At the time, he “hardly spoke English” and had “never even opened the Bible before.”

He came to Christ when friends like Gilmore reached out to him.

“They had a heart for people like me that didn’t feel like they fit in,” he remembers.

His roommates went on to encourage him to get involved in the worship for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) chapels on Friday mornings, so he did.

“That’s how, in a way, I got started [in music],” he says.

Johnson, on the other hand, first started playing the guitar when he was 15. After a handful of albums and EPs and years playing with the likes of Tommy Emmanuel, Phil Keaggy, and Grammy winner Victor Wooten, he continues

to perform his original music across the Southeast.

Johnson says that, as a student, he met people at NGU from across the country who introduced him to new music.

“It was nice being able to get that here and to process [different areas of music] with people who, for the most part, were believers and could view those things through the prism of objective beauty and beauty that transcends the kind of stuff you’re into,” he said.

Today, he’s back at NGU helping current students grow in their perspective of music: he currently teaches guitar lessons in the Cline School of Music when he’s not on the road.

His best advice to aspiring musicians?

“Find somebody that’s doing what you want to do, and follow them,” Johnson says.

That advice seems to match the premise of the CrossExamined series altogether. Subsequent events in the series featured experienced evangelists and pastors willing to share their insights for those areas of ministry with NGU students at BCM.

CROSS EXAMINED

BCM takes place throughout the school year on Thursdays at 7 p.m. in Turner Chapel — located on the NGU Tigerville Campus. All events are free and open to the public.

My Wonderful , Terrifying Journey at NGU’S WRITERS CONFERENCE

BY CELESTE HAWKINS (’11)

As I opened the doors to check in to the first writers conference of my life, I held a print-out of my book draft in one arm and the parking-line-yellow purse that makes me feel more optimistic in the other, pulling it closer to my side as I searched the crowd of faces.

I spotted her and let out the breath I’d been holding in, unaware, then sifted my way to her quieter spot off to the side of the chattering writers and editors and publishers, who all seemed to be pulling out their schedules again and looking over the first session options:

• Tessa Emily Hall – “Common Mistakes Newbie Writers Make in Their Manuscripts”

• Kim Peterson – “Is My Manuscript Ready for an Agent?”

• Jean Matthew Hall – “Children’s Book Categories”

• Lori Hatcher – “The Day I Wanted to Quit: Tackling the Mind Games That Discourage and Defeat Writers”

When I reached her, Leah and I hugged and caught up on life since we’d last seen each other at a birthday party over the summer. That’s when we’d discovered we were both working on our first books.

We looked at our schedules, too. This felt like trying to order ice cream: you know you can pick any one and be happy, but you kind of wish you could pick all of them, instead.

Finally, we agreed Kim Peterson’s was perfect for us. And for the next 45 minutes, Kim shared the top reasons manuscripts got trashed in her time at the Leslie Stobbe Literary Agency.

I took three pages of notes.

Later, Leah and I sat together again at our first keynote with Jenny Cote, award-winning author of the popular children’s fantasy series

“The Amazing Tales of Max and Liz” and “Epic Order of the Seven.”

As she took the stage, I noticed her springy blonde hair. Now I know it matches her personality inch for inch. She presented like the Energizer Bunny, clicking through slide after slide of quirky quotes and reviewing the pros and cons of each option in the publishing world in detail — in a talk she’d titled “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Deadlines.”

It’s the question every writer must grapple with: do you want to call the shots, or let someone else? And I’d been grappling with it myself.

Instinctively, I began to reflect on the answer I’d reached. Originally, I’d considered co-publishing my book. Next, I’d staunchly decided on self-publishing. As Jenny went on, the realization sank in like a rock to the bottom of a lake: I’d defaulted to those options because, deep down, I didn’t believe a “real publisher” would ever publish my book.

The familiar fear remained as I drove off at the end of that first day, curving around the dark rural backroads to home.

But the next day, I couldn’t help feeling renewed hope as I walked into a session with my former classmate Daniel Blackaby (’10), who’d published eight books since I saw him last in Shakespearean Tragedies my junior year.

If he did it, why can’t I? I told myself.

The chairs were filled, and we had to bring in more from next door to seat the lot of teenagers on up to 60-somethings. Daniel encouraged us to write even when we don’t feel inspired. He gave us silly prompts, and the results were side-hurting laughs at soon-to-be stories by creative people I was glad to be beside:

• You’re the coach of a basketball team that’s about to lose. Write the worst pep talk ever.

• You just woke up, looked in the mirror, and screamed. Write what you saw.

• Write a back-of-the-book description for this picture. (It was an old-timey ship, a long tentacle rising up out of the surrounding tempestuous waves.)

After the session, Daniel and I talked for a minute about our current projects. He even offered to read my book and share his feedback, to my surprise.

I’ll never forget the next session with Jenny. She took us step by step through her writing process — from jotting down initial concepts on an idea page, outlining, and planning out chapters to finding a critique team, knowing when to stop editing, and even soliciting endorsements for your book cover.

We do all of it first for God, and the results are ultimately up to Him, she reminded us.

“My book will get rejected by publishers. But if I give God 100 percent of the steps, then when my book gets rejected, they’ve rejected God’s plan,” I scribbled down in big letters.

The words entered my soul as if they’d been meant only for me.

I rehearsed those words as I waited at the large conference table, pulling out my binder and re-reading the title on the front.

Then he came in, the quiet man with the blue eyes and a tie. I stood, and we introduced ourselves.

“Hey, I’m Celeste,” I said, sure to give what one of our family friends used to call “the famous

Hawkins handshake” — the one I’d practiced as a girl when they greeted us at the church doors. “Good to meet you, Dr. Lowry.”

“You can call me Sam,” he said in his brilliant Irish accent, as we sat.

I asked him why he first became so interested in books, figuring that’s the only reason anyone becomes a publisher. And he recounted how his father had built him a wooden shelf by hand. After that, he felt a sense of responsibility to fill it up with books. He couldn’t stop reading.

The conversation turned to me. I told him about my background as a writer, gave him the elevator pitch for my book, and slid over the three-ring binder containing my manuscript. My heart quickened as I felt powerless to keep it safe and un-rejected any longer.

“It’s short,” he said about the wordcount, listed on the cover page.

“Yeah,” I said, then gulped.

I studied his every reaction, as he began to thumb through the pages, flipping forward then backward.

“Oh, I’m glad you have questions. You need that,” he added, pointing to the end of a chapter.

I nodded.

“Hmm,” he continued.

Was that the good kind of “hmm” or the bad kind of “hmm”? I wondered, stretching my shoulders back and willing every muscle to stay calm.

We sat in a silence that felt like eternity.

Finally, he spoke.

“Well, it’s definitely a good book,” he proclaimed, looking up with a smile.

My heart exploded like fireworks and surprise birthday parties. It was one of the best strings

of words I’ve ever heard, lined up together like that.

“Send me the manuscript,” he continued.

Did he really just say that? What is happening? my mind raced. I think you have to say something now!

“Okay. Of course,” I managed to answer, gathering my things and probably saying “thank you” a dozen times as his next appointment walked in and I left, bounding up the stairs to find someone to tell.

Even now, I hardly believe it all. That I shared my book with a publisher. That he actually read it. That he wrote back they’d be pleased to publish it. That I’ve signed a book contract with Ambassador International. And that maybe, just maybe, one day I’ll be on the other side of the Write2Ignite Conference at North Greenville University.

Building thefuture

When you walk into the newest building on North Greenville University’s Tim Brashier Campus in Greer, SC, it might not look like much now. The recently acquired space has quite a renovation ahead before it will be ready to host the campus’ ever-growing array of academic offerings.

But the most important thing here — what you can’t see with your eyes — is the promise NGU is making with this addition: that the university will continue to prepare adult students at this campus who will go on to become business owners and principals, ministers and physician assistants.

Yes, right here in Greer, NGU will continue building the future for the leaders of tomorrow.

ADULT CAMPUS EXPANSION

NGU officially announced plans to expand its Tim Brashier Campus at Greer in January, following a gift from a longtime donor family.

Travelers Rest philanthropist Dr. T. Walter “Walt” Brashier and his wife, Christine, gifted the university with the 17,225-square-foot building at 199 Hunt St. in Greer late last year. The property is located adjacent to NGU’s existing Tim Brashier Campus at 405 Lancaster Ave., making it ideal for integration into the current campus in the heart of the city.

“This is an incredible gift from a visionary family,” says NGU President Dr. Gene C. Fant, Jr. “We are constantly astonished by the generosity of the Brashiers and forever grateful for their continued support of our mission: to equip transformational leaders for church and society.”

With the addition of this second facility, NGU’s Greer campus will gain new spaces for classes, offices, and meetings to accommodate its adult learning offerings, growing the campus’ square footage by more than 55 percent.

The spacious Hunt Street property — which also encompasses two acres of land and a paved parking lot — once served as the Ryan’s Corpo-

rate Training Center, locals may remember. The structure has lain dormant, for the most part, since 2016.

Currently, CrossFit Greer leases a portion of the building for its fitness classes. NGU officials say they are pleased with the business relationship, noting that CrossFit Greer’s usage still provides ample space for expanding NGU’s academic facilities in the building.

“My heart overflows with gratitude because of the growth of the graduate school at the Tim Brashier Campus,” says Walt. “It is my opinion that the growth of this campus will be tremendous, not only in the future, but the very near future.”

NGU’S HISTORY IN GREER

NGU first set up camp at a Greer address in 2005, and the Brashiers were involved even back then.

The family, who has now supported NGU for more than five decades, gave a $1 million donation in 2005 that enabled NGU to launch its graduate school initially.

NGU’s graduate school began classes at leased space at the original Fairview Baptist Church building, located at 1400 Locust Hill Rd. in

Greer, in Spring 2006. At the time, NGU offered only two graduate programs. But over the years, that list of programs continued to grow.

So when Ovation Brands Inc., owner of Ryan’s Family Steak House, opted to sell its corporate offices in 2015 to Brashier, NGU was later able to purchase the more accommodating space and move into Greer city proper.

NGU bought its first Greer campus building at 405 Lancaster Ave. and officially began classes at the new Tim Brashier Campus at Greer — named in memory of the Brashiers’ son, Tim — during the Spring 2017 semester.

Shortly after, the Brashiers donated another $1 million to NGU to create a graduate school scholarship fund for Upstate residents and NGU alumni studying business, education, or ministry.

These scholarship funds have already supported more than a dozen students seeking to strengthen their academic credentials at NGU’s Greer campus.

GROWTH OF PROGRAMS

Since setting up shop in the city of Greer, NGU has developed its offerings for adult learners exponentially.

In 2017, after making the move to the city, the school restructured its graduate programs, which now include eight different degree options and four professional certificates.

Most notably, NGU officially started its physician assistant (PA) medicine program in 2017, as well. The program is one of only a few of its kind offered in the state of South Carolina, and it has attracted a large pool of applicants in its first year. More than 500 candidates applied for the 20 available spots last fall. Students who graduate from this program will be able to fill the growing demand for medical professionals in the area.

“With two excellent hospitals in Greer, the presence of the PA program offered by NGU serves a critical workforce need in the Upstate,” says Rick Danner, mayor of Greer. “The availability of both graduate-level and online continuing education classes also addresses other critical needs on the workforce front by allowing citizens the opportunity to continue their education in the place they live, work, and play.”

As Danner mentions, NGU has also introduced its first adult undergraduate degrees. These programs offer students who left school the opportunity to finish their undergraduate degree fully online — from anywhere in the world.

And just in the past year, NGU has introduced even more programs to help adults continue excelling in their fields through professional development.

For its flagship year of programming, NGU’s Leadership and Professional Development series has covered the fields of business and leadership, church and nonprofit, human resources, instructional excellence,

marketing and customer service, and mental health first aid. Topics ranged from “The Art of Professionalism” to “Child Safety” to “Social Media and the Workplace.”

Through its professional development series, NGU is now also building relationships with business partners — including the Greer Police Department — to provide customized training opportunities needed for their employees.

NGU has continued to strengthen and expand its adult learning programs since stepping into Greer.

IN THE FUTURE

The Tim Brashier Campus at Greer expansion will greatly increase NGU’s opportunities to continue providing a solid, Christ-centered education for adult learners at its Greer campus in the future.

As the Brashiers’ gifted building on Hunt Street becomes developed, NGU will gain the

Jon Wade Weatherford (’05)

resources not only to improve its current offerings, but also to develop new ones.

“I’m extremely excited about this campus expansion,” says Dr. Tawana Scott (’85, MBA ’08), NGU’s assistant vice president of graduate academic services. “It gives us the opportunity to gain a more substantial presence in Greer by providing broader offerings for professionals in the fields of business, education, and ministry — helping them to become transformational leaders in the areas where they are called to serve.”

Future plans for NGU’s Tim Brashier Campus at Greer include adding not only more degree programs in business, education, and ministry, but also more professional development events, as well.

The campus currently serves nearly 500 students per term — some from up the street in Greer, most from somewhere in South Carolina, and others from as far away as California.

But NGU leaders like Scott foresee increasing that reach significantly with the coming expansion.

“For the city, having a dedicated university presence is a game changer in so many ways,” says Mayor Danner. “I look forward to watching the Tim Brashier Campus grow in size, scope, and mission in the coming years.”

That growth has become not just a possibility, but a very real possibility, due to the Brashier family’s latest gift.

“This gift is more than just a building. It’s a promise for the future NGU has in store,” says Fant. “It will become a tool for NGU to continue building the future for our students, our communities, and the leaders of our world.”

Learn more about giving to develop NGU’s adult learning programs at ngu.edu/giving.

ALFORD’S GOT THE Need for Speed

Much like her hometown of Darlington, SC — known for the annual NASCAR Southern 500 — Janice Alford (’98) seems to love moving fast, from one favorite activity to another.

Growing up on a farm, Alford went to the races often; her father’s employer, Georgia-Pacific, gave out free tickets to all its Dixie Cup plant workers as a perk. Her mother, a seamstress, would make matching shirts for each of her siblings to wear to those summer weekend events.

Alford’s other hobbies? You could always find her acting or singing. She joined the choir at church, and they often asked her to recite poems and speeches for special services, too. Seeing her talent, her parents signed her up for vocal lessons early on.

“Now, if I go home and my dad is sitting in his recliner, and I walk through the door, he might say to me, ‘Sing the national anthem!’ she explains proudly. “So I’m always being coached, even as an adult. It never stops!”

When she came to NGU, Alford had her eyes set on being an actress. She earned her Associate in Fine Arts, with a concentration in performing arts, and her Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication at NGU in 1998.

During her time at NGU, Alford kept her plate full by serving with Black Student Fellowship and Student Christian League. She also performed in several of the school’s theatre productions, with her final production as the protagonist in “The Odd Couple” (Female Version) by Neil Simon. She also traveled with Act II, the school’s drama ministry.

“We were family. We loved one another. Nobody looked at my skin tone. My size didn’t matter, or that I was a country girl that grew up on a farm. None of that mattered," she remembers. “But we had one thing that did matter to us: Christ made the difference in our lives.”

After graduation, Alford started her career in

communications, sticking around Greenville, SC. She stayed involved in theatre through her church, which gave her “her moment” in the spotlight. But she eventually transitioned to public education, serving for 14 years as an educator in Darlington County, Florence County Four, and Newark Public Schools in Newark, NJ.

Alford went on to earn two degrees in the time it takes most folks to earn one — a Master of Arts in Church Music and a Master of Arts in Christian Education — from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, GA. She also completed her certification in grief counseling from the American Institute of Healthcare Professionals.

Currently, Alford serves as bereavement coordinator for Agape Hospice of the Upstate.

“Now, I’m able to incorporate everything that I’ve done into one career. Being with those in end-of-life care, there’s never a moment when I’m not able to go into a room and sing. There’s never a moment when I’m not able to perform a monologue for the different programs,” she exudes. “It’s not just counseling people.”

The job can be “heavy,” she admits. But she works to bring hope to every facility visit, bedside chat, and funeral service. Her secret to staying positive is self-care, she adds.

“Don’t try to do everything. You can’t be everything to everybody,” she says. “If I can’t take time to fill myself up, I can’t help anyone else.”

But after setting aside a morning of “moving a little slower,” she’s usually ready to get back at it.

“I’m always doing something. I always have something going on,” she grins.

When she’s not visiting patients and their families with her full-time job at Hospice, Alford might be on the road singing with the national gospel recording group Larry McCullough

& Chosen Generation; taking the stage in an off-Broadway production, since she’s a member of the Spectrum Theatre Company; or visiting campus for her role with the NGU Alumni Board.

“She stands up and really advocates for students who can often be overlooked,” says Stuart Floyd (’16), current board secretary.

Since 2017, Alford’s worked with Floyd not only on the board, but also in his role with the Office of Career Planning, recruiting students for Hospice at on-campus events.

And, of course, she still likes to come back for “Chicken day” on Wednesdays when she can.

For her committed service to NGU, Alford received the Alumni Board President’s Award at the 2018 NGU Connect event last fall, which came as a pleasant surprise to her.

“I was shocked out of my mind!” she exclaims. “Someone recognized the hard work and dedication that you put in in such a short time as a board member. It made me feel good just to be appreciated.”

An annual award, the Alumni Board President’s Award is given by the current board president to one alum who has gone the extra mile to serve others at NGU and beyond — just like Alford.

“Her big smile, contagious laughter, and quick wit are infectious. She is a magnet to everyone within arm’s reach,” says Julie Styles (’90, ’09), director of alumni engagement and development. “But best of all, Janice’s work ethic is unmatched. She tirelessly serves her community, as well as North Greenville University.”

ALUMNI NOTES

1965

Joyce Wood Capps retired from the Iredell County Partnership for Young Children in Statesville, NC, after serving for 10 years. She and her husband, Richard Capps, are living in Denver, NC.

1976

Sam Coates has served as minister of music at Pelham Road Baptist Church in Greenville, SC, for more than 20 years. His wife, Lucy, retired last year from Greenville County Schools; now, she is enjoying being a nana to their two grandchildren, Bear and Rory. William, their oldest son, works for the YMCA. Patterson, their middle son, teaches at Hillcrest High School. And their youngest son, Jack, serves in the Marines.

1980

Patty Stevens Kerns accepted a position with the International Mission Board (IMB) as a masters missionary in 2017, after serving on several international mission trips to Romania, Panama, Nicaragua, and Jordan and working with the Greenville Baptist Association over many years. She is now serving in Panama with IMB’s America Connect, facilitating short-term mission trips for churches in the U.S.

1986

Cindi Rhodes has accepted a position with Signature HealthCARE in Louisville, KY, as director of quality of life and music therapist.

1993

John Lucas assumed command of USS Bulkeley during a ceremony

onboard the warship in Faslane, Scotland, on Aug. 17, 2018. The U.S. Navy destroyer, homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa.

1996

Bryant Sims, pastor of First Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Greenwood, SC, is the current president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. After serving as president-elect for one year, Sims officially took office as the convention’s president at the conclusion of its annual meeting last fall.

1998

Dani Dickerson is teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) at Riverside Middle School in Greer, SC.

Josh Powell was voted president-elect of the South Carolina Baptist Convention’s 2019 Annual Meeting. Powell is the pastor of Lake Murray Baptist Church in Lexington, SC.

2001

Corey Fountain has been named head football coach at Clinton High School in Clinton, SC.

Lance Stockton serves as the visual and performing arts coordinator for Aiken County Public School District (ACPSD). ACPSD has recently partnered with the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation (MHOF) and its Music Education District Support Services (MEDSS), be-

coming the only school district in South Carolina with this partnership. The partnership includes program audit, instrument inventory audit, community engagement, professional development, and consultation and provides the school with an opportunity to apply for grants to improve music education access across the district. Stockton also recently started an adjunct position with the University of South Carolina Aiken, where he teaches junior-level music education majors.

2002

Laura Brooks co-teaches with her husband, Douglas Brooks, at York Comprehensive High School. She teaches all of the horn line and winds students, as well as jazz class. Last spring, the Brooks took 140 students on a three-city tour to Baltimore, New York, and Philadelphia. While in New York, their honors wind ensemble played the great stage of Carnegie Hall.

2003

Ben Herod has been named head of school of Thomas Heyward Academy in Ridgeland, SC, for the 2020-21 school year. He will be the assistant head of school for the 2019-20 school year. Herod is currently assistant principal to lower, middle, and high school at Laurence Manning Academy in Manning, SC. He also serves as the academy’s athletic director and teaches several classes.

2004

Brett Ensley worked as music editor for the short film “The Hastings,” released in 2018. “The Hastings” is a suspense drama by filmmaker Miguel Miller about the anguish of a mother whose baby’s mysterious disappearance sends her into a world where surreal dreams are only a door to reality. The film stars actors Marcela Herrera, Dean DeVito, and Joanne Flovella. Ensley has previously also worked on the music for the documentaries “The Sereer: Desperately Trying to Please God” and “Lawman of Simpsonville.”

Derek and Lauren Nelson currently serve in Cape Verde, Africa, through Global Year. In their role, they host students during a gap year while also spreading the gospel and making disciples among the unreached people in the nation.

Tara Tally Smith was awarded a Master of Social Work from the University of New England in Maine on Aug. 31, 2018.

2005

Bill Sherrill continues to compose and publish church music. Two of his church pieces were premiered by Upstate choirs in 2018.

Matthew Rollins, co-owner of Anchor Bat Company in Greenville, SC, partnered with an active duty U.S. Navy SEAL to create hand-painted camouflage bats used in the 2018 Major League Baseball Players’ Weekend. After Players’ Weekend, the bats went on auction. Proceeds benefited One More Wave, a nonprofit that provides wounded or disabled veterans customized equipment and assistance so they can enjoy surfing and ocean therapy. Rollins

was a four-year starter for NGU, where he played centerfield and hit leadoff for most of his college career.

2007

Brad Barron was recently promoted to major in the U.S. Army Reserves. He is currently in command of Headquarters Company, 431st Civil Affairs Battalion, and plans to depart for the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, in May 2019 to learn Arabic.

2008

Gregory Suits began as the worship music director for a new church plant — Rivercrest Presbyterian Church in Lexington, SC — in January 2018. He has been working at BB&T for five years.

2009

Dr. Andrew Hack is an ophthalmologist with Southern Eye Associates in Greenville, SC. After earning his bachelor’s in biology, he attended the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, graduating with distinction with his Doctor of Medicine. He completed both his internship in internal medicine and residency in ophthalmology at Baylor Scott & White Health in Temple, TX, serving as chief resident his final year. In 2018, he also completed a fellowship in cornea, external disease, and refractive surgery at the Dean McGee Eye Institute in Oklahoma City, OK.

Devin Vance is a Nationwide Insurance agent in Greer, SC. He has been serving South Carolinians for six years.

Tausha Wallace (MBA ’17) has created her own successful business of country chic handmade wood decor, called Southern Bliss Designs. Wallace’s business has recently been featured on WSPA 7News, as well as at the Greenville Holiday Fair and the “Country Living” Fair.

2010

Sam Holt recently had his successful business — Catalyst Advertising, which he established in 2014 — acquired by Proclaim Interactive of Carolina Beach, NC, where he joins the team as a digital marketing strategist.

David Jackson has recently done commissioned artwork for a variety of projects, including vacation Bible school curriculum, corporate training events, and family portraits. He has owned his own illustration and caricature business, Profile Art 116, since 2012. Jackson is also working towards his Master of Divinity at Reformed Theological Seminary.

Corie Miller has been named lab manager with downtown Greenville’s coworking space Serendipity Labs. Miller previously worked as the event planner for The Cliffs Valley, the sponsorship sales and public information manager for the events department at the City of Greenville, and the event sales specialist at Larkin’s Catering. In her spare time, Miller has also been involved in helping with Greenville events such as Fall for Greenville and planning charity events for the past 13 years. Miller also volunteers with the city’s Parks and Recreation department. For her work, Miller has been featured

in “TALK Greenville” and the AllSeated.com blog.

Barry Mullinax has completed his Master of Education Administration from the University of South Carolina. He serves as the performing arts coordinator for Laurens District 55.

Alex Reynolds has joined the video production company Let People See as a producer. Reynolds is also the owner of ASR Enterprises and the founder and president of Taylors TownSquare, a community development nonprofit aimed at making Taylors, SC, better by facilitating connections and enabling responses to those connections.

2011

Melissa Weaver Baker has become an adjunct instructor at McMurry University in Abilene, TX. She instructs both active duty military students at Dyess Air Force Base and civilian college students at McMurry University in freshman composition.

Rebeca Mendible Kipp and her mother have re-opened their bakery as Pink Pineapple Cakes (PPC), a high-end custom cake shop located in Surfside Beach, SC. PPC specializes in wedding cakes and custom cakes. The bakery has earned a perfect score of 5.0 by reviewers on WeddingWire, the largest online marketplace that connects merchants with engaged couples.

Joshua Putnam has joined Palmetto Family as the organization’s fourth president since its creation in 1994. Putnam is a former mem-

ber of the South Carolina House of Representatives; he served for four terms in the General Assembly and also as the chairman of multiple sub-committees. He has been recognized nationally as an emerging leader within state governments. As one of the state’s youngest-ever elected officials, Putnam led on many important legislative reforms to help strengthen the family unit. His leadership helped transform the state’s foster care system, as well as fraternity hazing laws.

Thelá Thatch (MBA) is the founder of Management Resource Solutions, a full-service human resources consulting firm. Thatch has more than two decades of experience in human resources, talent management, organizational development, policy creation, and diversity and inclusion initiatives. She has served as an executive consultant to local government agencies and community-based organizations, where she focused on investing in human capital to end homelessness. Thatch is also a PhD candidate in public policy and law and the author of two books: “Employee Handbooks 101” and a children’s book titled “The Dog Chef.”

2012

Craig Sanders presented a paper at the 2018 Fall Evangelical Theological Society meeting in Denver, titled “The Spirit's Passion for Justice: Empowering Advocates for the Weak.” Sanders is currently a second year PhD student in Christian theology at Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, MO.

2013

Kris Ahler (MBA) has been named police chief of Landrum, SC. He began his duties on Sept. 5, 2018, after winning out among 17 candidates who applied for the position. Ahler has 20 years of law enforcement experience. Prior to his new role, he worked with the Greer Police Department for more than 10 years and was selected Officer of the Year in 2008. Ahler held the rank of sergeant in the Greer Police Department. He earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and master’s in business administration from NGU.

Dylan Fulk has been named Pro Bass Angler title sponsor of Kona Gold Solutions Inc., a hemp lifestyle brand focused on product development in the energy drink sector. Kona Gold’s title sponsorship will encompass all of 2019, in which Fulk will compete in around 15 tournaments along the East Coast of the United States in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Maryland.

Hannah Reynolds is teaching English at High Point Christian Academy in High Point, NC.

Eliza Rountree was voted the 2018-19 Teacher of the Year at the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind, where she teaches preschool and kindergarten.

2014

Jacob Buckley’s nonprofit, Fire Pit Ranch (FPR), has introduced a new leadership development curriculum that is being used

in elementary schools in South Carolina. FPR is a nonprofit focused on making connections through outdoor experiences, like backpacking and canoeing, that redefine a child’s legacy. In addition to serving as the director of FPR, Buckley also works as the career development facilitator at R.D. Anderson Applied Technology Center.

Adam Cochran is teaching elementary music at Monarch Elementary School in Simpsonville, SC. This year, he began a bucket drumming ensemble for fourthand fifth-grade students. The ensemble is an auditioned group of 13 students who perform with the school’s chorus at concerts. Adam also serves on the worship team at The Church at Greer Station in Greer, SC, where he and his wife, Courtney Holt Cochran (’13), are members. Courtney works for financial aid at NGU. The Cochrans have one daughter, Evelyn.

2015

Joseph Elledge has become an adjunct professor of sport management at Lander University in Greenwood, SC.

Michael Johnson has published his article “The 5 T’s of Playing Low Brass” in the South Carolina Music Educators Association journal, “South Carolina Musician.” After graduating from NGU with his degree in music, Johnson pursued his Master of Education at Samford University in Birmingham, AL. He is active as a teacher and performer, playing both euphonium and trombone.

Jade Kelley graduated from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master of Arts in Christian Education in May 2018.

2016

Nelson Hughes III has signed on with the Ancona Dolphins, who finished fifth in Italy’s Division I in 2018, as their quarterback for the 2019 season. Hughes, a native of Spartanburg, SC, was the seventh leading passer in the German Football League (GFL) in 2018, playing for the Ingolstadt Dukes. He threw for 2,947 yards and 30 touchdowns, averaging 210 yards a game. He also rushed for 352 yards and another three touchdowns. He first arrived in Europe partway through the 2017 GFL season, playing for the Hildesheim Invaders.

2017

Ashton Heard, former North Greenville standout, will find his way back to the gridiron after signing a contract with the Copenhagen Towers. The Towers are the defending Danish American Football League champions, finishing last season with a perfect 100 record to go along with the league title.

Rodney Inman is now teaching at Monarch Elementary School in Union, SC.

John Partin is now a legislative assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives, serving on the staff of Congressman William Timmons. Partin previously worked as a legislative correspondent in the U.S. Senate. He graduated from NGU with his bachelor’s in history and a minor in political science.

2018

Sam Houston, a three-year starter at middle linebacker for the Green Wave football team, was recently inducted into the Easley High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Named all-region his senior year, he later received a football scholarship to NGU. At North Greenville, Houston was a fouryear starter at middle linebacker. He holds several records for tackles during his NGU career. In 2015, he was a National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) All-American selection. In 2016, he was voted a team captain and the team’s Most Valuable Player, along with being nominated for the South Carolina Hall of Fame Player of the Year award.

Will Paul McDonald won first place in the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) Gold Circle Awards Photo Illustration category for his photo, “Sight,” published in NGU’s literary and art magazine “The Mountain Laurel” in 2018.

Lance Moore recently opened The Mountain Top Gym in Kings Mountain, NC. The name of the 24-hour gym references both the gym’s city and its owner’s goal: to push members to the top to become their healthiest selves. Moore spent several months after college as a personal trainer in Gaffney, SC, before deciding to make the jump and open his own gym.

Jessica Pearce is teaching chorus at Tanglewood Middle School in Greenville, SC.

Amber Tepedino is teaching band at Johnakin Middle School in Marion, SC.

Grace Watson is teaching music at Fair-Oak Elementary School in Westminster, SC.

Caleb Willingham earned an honorable mention in Closed Form Poetry from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) Gold Circle Awards. His poem, “An Elegy for Sleep,” appeared in NGU’s 2018 literary and art magazine, “The Mountain Laurel,” themed “Voices.”

IN MEMORIAM

Rev. Dr. Joseph Wilson Smith, Jr., (’42) on Dec. 7, 2018

Robert Edward Lee (’54) on Nov. 2, 2018

Rebecca Jean McElveen Abreo (’55) on May 4, 2017

William Carroll Burns (’58) on Dec. 15, 2018

Kenneth Kevin Whitt (MCM ’07) on Dec. 15, 2018

Rachel Glazebrook (’14) on Oct. 22, 2018

Dr. Wilson Cooke (retired math professor) on Dec. 25, 2018

Dr. Joe Frank Hayes, Sr., (trustee) on Jan. 16, 2019

Dr. Ralph Hendricks (trustee) on Feb. 17, 2019

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We include Alumni Notes in order to showcase the accomplishments and milestones of the NGU family. These notes are not intended, however, to endorse specific individuals or their services.

We hope you’ll share your own submissions at ngu.edu/shareyournews

WEDDINGS

Stephanie Quinn Green (’14) to Ethan James Price (’13) on Nov. 25, 2018

Anna Grace Sullivan (’14) to Caleb Michael Gunter (’17) on June 16, 2018

1 Victoria Danielle Sheriff (expected ’19) to William Richard Goubert (’18) on April 28, 2018

2 Leslie Ilene Turner (expected ’19) to Charles Micah Barksdale (’18) on Dec. 15, 2018

BABIES

3 Sheila Moore Price (’08) and her husband, Cody Price, welcomed their baby girl, Birdie Elizabeth, on Dec. 13, 2018. She weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 20 inches long.

4 Grace Cobin Balding (’13) and her husband, Joseph Balding, welcomed their baby boy, William Joseph, on Dec. 18, 2017. He weighed 9 pounds, 8 ounces and was 20 inches long.

5 Elizabeth Ray Epting (’14) and her husband, Josh Epting (’15), welcomed their baby boy, Jude Thomas, on Dec. 13, 2018. He weighed 7 pounds, 1 ounce and was 20 inches long.

aLeaving Legacy

Dr. Dewey “Wilson” Cooke, Jr., taught faithfully at North Greenville for nearly three decades.

A professor of mathematics and the institution’s earliest computer courses, Wilson first came to North Greenville in 1969.

His 28 years of service at the school yielded many fond memories. As he told the “NGC Alumni Newsletter” staff in 1997, “My fondest memory is that I had the pleasure of working with a great many real nice people.”

Wilson also boasted that he’d worked for every president the college had ever had up to that point, with the exception of Dr. Murphree Donnan.

Even after retiring, Wilson continued teaching part-time at North Greenville. He and his late wife, Ruth Cooke, lived in Tigerville, SC. They were active members of Tigerville Baptist Church.

Several of the Cookes’ surviving family members graduated from North Greenville: their sons Steven Cooke (’76) and Kenneth Cooke (’83), as well as their grandson Ryan Cooke (’13) and his wife, Kristyn Cooke (’13, MBA ’16).

Wilson passed away on Dec. 25, 2018, at the age of 85.

Dr. Joe Frank Hayes, Sr., a prominent NGU leader and donor, involved with the university for more than 40 years.

Even while leading a successful career as president and owner of Hayes Food Products Inc., Joe served on the university’s Board of Trustees for four decades, beginning in 1969. In 1992, he was selected by his board peers to be a Lifetime Board Member. He also assisted in organizing North Greenville’s Council of Advisors.

In the 1970s, Joe funded the renovation and expansion of North Greenville’s gymnasium. The renovations were dedicated on Nov. 13, 1975, as Hayes Gymnasium. He later earned induction into the college’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1996.

Joe and his wife, Eleanor Hayes, actively supported a range of university projects over the years, from athletics and undergraduate scholarships to Baptist Collegiate Ministries’ traveling music ensemble, Joyful Sound. The Hayeses were the sole benefactors of Joyful Sound’s annual recording project, also providing funding for the ministry’s transportation and equipment.

In the late 1990s, NGU honored the couple with the naming of the Joe Frank and Eleanor Hayes Ministry Center, which currently houses the Office of Enrollment Services. Then at the 1998 spring commencement, the university awarded Joe a Doctor of Humane Letters for his distinguished volunteerism and financial support.

The Hayeses also provided the lead gift to construct the Hayes Christian Fine Arts Center. Completed in 2001, the center provides studio, classroom, rehearsal, and recital hall space. They also provided the benches for the Todd Prayer Chapel in 2012 and a rose garden named in honor of their son in 2014.

Joe passed away on Jan. 16, 2019, at the age of 90.

In 1985, Ralph’s first wife, Virginia Hendricks, passed away suddenly. However, prior to that, the couple had discussed ways they could give back to the Lord by helping young people in the Simpsonville, SC, area. Based on this shared desire, Ralph decided to create the Ralph and Virginia Hendricks Foundation in his wife’s honor, with the mission of providing college scholarships for students.

In 1986, Ralph married Marion Hubbard. The two continued working through their foundation to provide hundreds of students with scholarships to attend local universities like NGU. In 1997, the Hendricks family went on to establish a scholarship at NGU that offers tuition assistance for graduates of Hillcrest and Woodmont High Schools, in particular.

In 2005, NGU’s Hendricks Athletic Center was opened as a football operations center.

Ralph received NGU’s 2013 Board Leadership Award, given to a trustee whose support of NGU serves as an example to others. That same year, the university awarded him an honorary Doctor of Christian Leadership.

Ralph passed away on Feb. 17, 2019, at the age of 101.

World-Changers?

NGU impacted your life, and now you’re impacting others. If you want your special friends and family members to have that same experience, then we’d love to meet them.

Just fill in our new Refer a Friend form with their contact info, and we’ll reach out. You might win a prize and change a life.

Start now at ngu.edu/referafriend.

Savanna L. studies political science at NGU, while also working with Student Life to plan campus activities. As the president of the NGU Students for Life club, she rallies her peers around the pro-life cause. After graduation, Savanna hopes to pursue a career in politics so she can make an impact on the policies that affect the family in America today.

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