Wofford College

When Marga-Rita Van Der Linde '25 was sworn in as Campus Union president for 2024-25 on April 22, she became the first woman since Claudia Albergotti Ruffin '11 to serve in the role. The new vice president, secretary and treasurer are also women, making this the first all-female executive cabinet since the 1995-96 academic year. It's something that Van Der Linde takes seriously but doesn't dwell on. She and the other women on the executive council have plans for enhancing the Wofford experience for all students. "Wofford has done a great job at putting the students' needs first, and I want to continue building on the foundation that the previous student body presidents have laid," says Van Der Linde, who is joined on the cabinet by Simrin Channa '25, vice president; Julia Brooks '25, treasurer; and Geneva Kowbeidu '26, secretary.

Five Terriers have joined forces with Dr. Kimberly Hall this summer to discover how artificial intelligence can more effectively be incorporated in a college setting. Susann Breazele '26, an English major from Pickens, South Carolina; Maggie Head '26, a chemistry and philosophy double major from Lexington, South Carolina; Kate Podrebarac '26, a computer science and applied mathematics double major from Friendswood, Texas; Sam Turnipseed '25, an English and philosophy major from Columbia, South Carolina; and Rivers West '25, an environmental studies major from Oak Ridge, North Carolina, signed up to take part in Hall's research project "Developing Undergraduate Humanistic AI Research Capacity at a Small Liberal Arts College." Hall, an associate professor of English who leads the college's AI Working Group, says current research focuses on how faculty and administrators view generative AI - a platform like ChatGPT for instance. She is making sure student perspectives are included.

This summer, two Wofford students have picked up where they left off last summer. Clayton Hixon '26, a government major from Jackson, Georgia, and Julio Del Jesus '25, a government major from Kissimmee, Florida, are back in the courthouse with the Hon. Timothy Madden '85, continuing their legal internship with the 13th Judicial Circuit in Greenville, South Carolina. Last summer's internship enabled Hixon and Del Jesus to learn various components of law and how they interconnect. This year, they are making connections by visiting courthouses across the state, learning about different specialties in law, meeting with lawyers and networking in the legal community. Madden, a family court judge, has also taken the students to visit the University of South Carolina's Joseph F. Rice School of Law, where he completed his Juris Doctor degree.

A chance connection with a Wofford alumna has led to a dream internship for Marlee Bland '25, a finance major from Charleston, South Carolina. Bland is spending her second summer at Sea Fox Boat Company, based in Charleston, honing her skills under the guidance of Tanner Renken '19, director of IT and marketing and fourth-generation leader of the family-owned company. After contacting Sea Fox about a potential internship last summer, Bland landed the opportunity and connected with Renken.

Wofford College provost Dr. Timothy Schmitz has announced Dean's List students for the spring 2024 semester.

Two years ago, Andrew Arends '24 made a commitment. Inspired by the example of his former classmate Emily Hathcock '23, Arends signed up for the stem cell donation registry NMDP, formerly the National Bone Marrow Donor Program and Be the Match. "Emily set up a table in the Mungo Student Center and encouraged people to come by," says Arends, who is originally of St. Matthews, South Carolina. "You could submit a mouth swab to see if you're a DNA match. It was a super easy process. So, I did it." As the months passed, Arends admits he forgot about the commitment. To his surprise, he received a call in January while interning in Washington, D.C.

Becca Watson '24 arrived at Wofford College with her sights set on becoming an attorney. During the first week of her college journey, Becca, a government major from Chesnee, South Carolina, joined Wofford's Launch Program. Through the program, she gained insights that broadened her business knowledge and started her on a path to becoming a fourth-generation owner of Watson's Furniture, her family's 72-year-old furniture store in Chesnee.

Thirty Wofford College students and recent graduates were inducted as members-in-course during the college's Phi Beta Kappa ceremony on Thursday, April 18, in Leonard Auditorium, Main Building. Students are normally considered for election to Wofford's Phi Beta Kappa chapter after they have earned 100 credit hours with a cumulative GPA of 3.6. Election is not automatic. Resident members of the chapter consider scholarship, character, intellectual curiosity, creative thinking, diversity of academic interests and pursuits, and other factors in the election process. The chapter may elect only 10% of a graduating class in any one year.

Wofford College awarded 421 baccalaureate degrees during its 170th Commencement Exercises on Sunday, May 19. The Hon. Costa Pleicones, a 1965 Wofford graduate, member of the college's board of trustees and retired chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court, delivered the keynote address to the Class of 2024. "The capacity to communicate, to create, to think and to adapt are the hallmarks of the liberally educated person," Pleicones says. "These are the skills and capacities Wofford has instilled in you." During the ceremony in the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, the college conferred honorary degrees to three individuals: Betty James Montgomery, Dr. Daniel Baker Morrison Jr. '75 and Tony L. Thomas. Special teaching awards were presented to Dr. Kimberly Hall, associate professor of English, and Dr. Natalie Spivey, associate professor and chair of the Department of Biology. Hall received the Philip Covington Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Humanities and Social Sciences. Spivey received the Roger Milliken Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Science. The college presented the prestigious Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards to Jack Galbraith (student recipient) and Craig Burnett '68 (non-student recipient). The student recipient of the Mary Mildred Sullivan Award was Arnise Wright. The non-student recipient was Ruth Littlejohn.

Alexis DeLoach '25 won the Outstanding Oral Presentation Award in Cell and Molecular Biology at the Association of Southeastern Biologists 85th annual meeting held March 20-23 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. DeLoach led a research team that included Sebastian Sisk '24, a biology major from Inman, South Carolina, and alumnus Daiven Sharma '24. She presented evidence for the phosphate-dependent control of symbiont cell division in the model anemone Exaiptasia diaphana.

Maggie Genoble '24 dives into complex ideas about the modern dilemma of bodily awareness in the digital age in her exhibition "Touchy Subjects." The exhibition is on display through Feb. 28 in the Richardson Family Art Gallery. Genoble, the 2023-24 Whetsell Fellow, will give an artist talk at 6 p.m. on Feb. 22 in the gallery. The exhibition and the talk are free and open to the public. Each year, the Whetsell Fellowship is given to a student-artist to provide mentorship and funding for a personal project. Genoble, an art history and studio art double major from Jonesville, South Carolina, took inspiration for her sculpture exhibit from Donna J. Harraway's book "A Cyborg Manifesto," which explores ideas of feminism and materialism through the lens of technology, as well as an interwoven connection between nature and machine.

Julia Richardson '24 followed her fascination for religious traditions to Vietnam in January. In the Land of the Blue Dragon, Richardson, a Chinese, philosophy and religious studies major from Moore, South Carolina, found inspiration for her future academic pursuits. "I plan on pursuing a Ph.D. in Buddhist studies, and I have research interests surrounding Buddhism in the contemporary world," Richardson says. "The temples I saw and experienced in Vietnam strengthened these interests."

Wofford College will host students from 16 colleges and universities on Feb. 24-25 as they compete in an American Mock Trial Association Regional Tournament. This is the second year Wofford has hosted the regional. The competition was held on campus last year. This year, the opening and closing ceremonies will be held in Leonard Auditorium, but the competitions will move to the newly-opened Spartanburg County Courthouse. Teams from Berry College, College of Charleston, Duke University, East Tennessee State, Florida State University, Georgia College and State University, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, LaGrange College, New College of Florida, Spelman College, the University of Alabama, the University of Georgia, the University of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina Upstate and Western Carolina University will compete in the regional. Wofford will not compete this year.

The Southern Guards Battalion Army Reserve Officers Training Corps held its annual tribute on Saturday, Nov. 18, commemorating the 101 Wofford College students or alumni who have fallen in combat since World War I. As the morning sun rose above the treetops, cadets gathered in front of the Charles E. Daniel Building and read aloud the names. Jason Kellinger '24, an international affairs major from Calne, England, played "Taps" on a trumpet to conclude the brief but somber ceremony.

Three Wofford College students have been recognized for their service to the campus and local communities. Taylor Fuller '24, a biology and sociology and anthropology double major from Roebuck, South Carolina; Ashley Manigault '24, a French and psychology double major from Charleston, South Carolina; and MauriAnna Richardson '25, a chemistry major from Columbia, South Carolina, have earned the Penny Koger Memorial Scholarship. They were honored during the Black Alumni Summit held during Homecoming. Fuller also earned the inaugural Harold Mitchell Jr. and Marlon Hunter ReGenesis Healthcare Undergraduate Scholarship for students pursuing studies in health care-related fields at a four-year college or university in South Carolina. In addition, Nadia Ferguson '25, a chemistry major from Spartanburg, received the 1854 Heritage Fund award.

Promise Henry '25 knew she didn't want to pursue a traditional internship in finance at a bank to gain experience in the financial field. "I have an interest in higher education," says Henry '25, a double major in finance and accounting with a minor in education from Cowpens, South Carolina. "I thought it would be best for me to reach out to one of the finance professors here at Wofford to see what things look like in academia." Henry contacted Josh Harris '09, visiting assistant professor of finance, and Harris introduced Henry to a long-term project that explores the impact of self-esteem in personal finance.

Dozens of Wofford College students were recognized for academic excellence, leadership and citizenship on Friday, May 19, at the college's annual Honors Convocation held in the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. President Nayef Samhat named Josh Lipscomb '24, a philosophy and Spanish double major from Travelers Rest, South Carolina as Wofford's Presidential International Scholar for the 2023-24 academic year. Academic departments also recognized their outstanding students, and a variety of other leadership and citizenship awards were presented during the event.

No matter what happens at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association national championships on Thursday, May 4, Remington Linker '25 has already won. After what she went through to get there, it's just that simple.

Wofford College's fraternities and sororities held their annual Greek Week the week of April 25 and concluded it with the annual Greek Awards that recognized both organizations and individual achievements of members. Additionally, organizations raised $27,051 for the Grateful Hearts Project, started by Cate Whitlatch '24, a psychology major from Greensboro, North Carolina. The project creates themed boxes of decorations for kids admitted to the hospital.

In a small community in the eastern corner of the Dominican Republic, Santa Rhina Barett Figaro has a thriving business where she sells bread, sandwiches, fried chicken and fresh juices. It was all made possible by a $100 loan through funding provided by the James-Atkins Student-Managed Investment Fund.

Messiah Jones '23 surprised himself while teaching at Meeting Street Academy during the fall semester. Jones, a sociology and anthropology major from Chicago, Illinois, discovered that he enjoyed teaching. Jones' time in the classroom was made possible by a new partnership between Wofford College and Meeting Street, a public school of innovation in Spartanburg School District 7.

The plan is to be in business by the end of the summer. That's the goal of the five Wofford College students who are participating this year in the Summer Accelerator program through the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Wofford College rising sophomore Emily Hathcock is taking her love of medicine and passion for helping others to a global scale. Hatchcock has been elected to the International Health Occupations Students of America's Executive Council, where she will be serving as the International postsecondary/collegiate vice president.