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.

When Ellis Parsons '26 pursued research opportunities this summer, he opted for an experience that would take him out of his comfort zone. Parsons, an international affairs and history double major from Landrum, South Carolina, chose to work with Dr. Daniel Helman, visiting assistant professor of environmental studies, on a study that could illuminate the beginnings of life on earth. "It's outside of my field a little, but I think that is what attracted me to it," Parsons says. "I was interested in gaining experience in research and challenging myself to go beyond my abilities."

Joel Gammah '26, a computer science major from Ghana, made a Terrier connection that led to a transformative summer internship thanks to a conversation with Wofford College President Nayef Samhat. In the spring Gammah was on the guest list for a dinner for international students at the President's Home hosted by Nayef and Prema Samhat. During a conversation with the president, Gammah shared stories of his work as a Bonner Scholar at the Adult Learning Center in Spartanburg. Samhat immediately texted Bill Brasington '89, executive director of the Adult Learning Center, to expand the connection.

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.

In February, Samuel Cornett '26, a finance major from Nicholasville, Kentucky, decided to seek summer internship opportunities near Wofford College's campus. He searched "wealth management" and found 1670 Wealth Management among the top results. "I wanted real-world experience, and, with my summer football schedule, I was looking for something in the area" says Cornett, a quarterback for the Terriers and member of the student-managed James-Atkins Investment Fund. "They were only about a mile from campus, so I sent them an email."

Caroline Adams '27 was "brought up raising green beans, corn and cattle." Seems simple enough. Her platform with Future Farmers of America and her plan for the future, however, are anything but. Adams '27, an environmental studies major from Lake Wylie, South Carolina, grew up in a farming family. Her grandparents owned a small beef cattle farm. Her aunt owned a large turkey farm, and some of Adams' earliest photos include her holding baby animals. She took agriculture classes in middle school and became involved in the Future Farmers of American through those. She won an FFA regional tournament for creed speaking and became president of her high school chapter during her senior year. She served as statewide president during her first year at Wofford. "My grandfather introduced me to agriculture," says Adams. "When his health started to decline, and he didn't have insurance to deal with early onset dementia, our family had to sell the cows and equipment. Small family farms often fail because of medical emergencies and health care costs. I want to change that."

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.

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.

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.

Thirty Wofford College students and recent graduates were initiated 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.

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.

Three Wofford College students are leading women's health outreach on campus and in the surrounding community. Madelyn Wilson '25, Gabby Gecan '25 and Mary Charles Burke '25 have founded the Wofford Women's Health Coalition with the aim of combining education and awareness on women's health topics with monthly service opportunities in Spartanburg, South Carolina. "We needed a space where we can talk about women's health, benefit the community and promote education," says Wilson, a psychology and Spanish major from Apex, North Carolina, who is serving as the coalition's co-president.

Tiana Kidd '25, a biology and physics double major from Greenwood, South Carolina, has been selected as Wofford's 2024-25 Presidential International Scholar. Kidd, the 40th recipient of the scholarship, hopes to journey to Cameroon, Ghana and Morocco, where she hopes to conduct research for her project "Beyond Aesthetics: Exploring Fashion as Identity."

Charles Beltz '25 wasn't thinking of himself when he decided to take the plunge during Interim. "I took this course because I might have kids one day and I want to be able to save them if they have a near-drowning experience," says Beltz, a biology major from Inman, South Carolina. "I swam in the deep end for the first time. I could barely float when I started." The Learn to Swim course, guided by Drs. Kim Rostan and Grace Schwartz, aims to teach students basic water safety and swimming skills. Students also are learning about the history and cultural significance of the favorite recreational pastime. They're also studying the societal barriers that contribute to an alarming rate of people who are unable to swim the length of a pool, a statistic that affects more than one-third of adults in the U.S., according to the USA Swimming Foundation.

Mary-Patterson Suggs '24 knows how difficult it can be for students lacking clinical experience to choose career specialties in health care. For that reason, Suggs, a biology major on the pre-med track from Charleston, South Carolina, picked Clinical Internship in Medicine as the final Interim course of her Wofford career. "I'm a senior and have some pretty big decisions coming up," Suggs says. "I wanted to challenge myself and explore at least some of the options out there. Interim is such a special tradition and, this being my last one, I wanted to make the most of it."

This week, Connelly, the founder of Non Disclosure Apparel, a bra company based in Charleston, South Carolina, returned to campus to share her experience with students. Connelly is serving as Wofford's entrepreneur in residence for the week as part of The Entrepreneurial Mindset Interim course. She's giving lectures, working with students individually and in groups on their startup ideas, helping them prepare to pitch those ideas and more. "Becky is a dynamic, passionate and seasoned entrepreneur," says Sarah Butler, manager of Wofford's Launch Program in the Career Center in the Mungo Exchange, who is teaching the course. "With her knowledge and experience, I knew our students would enjoy and benefit from having her here."

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.

Before taking the For the Love of Coffee course during Interim, iced lattes from a national chain were the be-all, end-all for Sarah Greenlee '24. Greenlee, an international affairs and Spanish double major from Spartanburg, South Carolina, and her group scored the top prize in the class' brewing competition. "My palate matured to enjoying many flavor notes and roast styles," Greenlee says. "It was incredible to explore the range coffee has and the community it brings." Caroline Doss '24, an English and Spanish double major from Greensboro, North Carolina, echoed the fascination with the social and cultural impact of coffee, and wouldn't have experienced her last Interim any other way. "This class has been the best start to my last semester at Wofford," Doss says. "I tried unique coffee with interesting flavors from all around the world, and I loved showcasing our new brewing skills at the community coffee exhibition."

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 students escaped a serial killer and saved Boss from Professor F. Urman during Interim. The two adventures were part of the Breakout Games course. Taught by Dr. Jenny Bem, associate professor of accounting, and Dr. Amanda Olsen, associate professor of accounting, the course was designed to help participants sharpen their critical thinking and teamwork skills through breakout games and escape rooms. "Each class, we would work on logic problems to push our brains," Bem says. "We also visited some escape rooms to challenge ourselves and put those skills to use." For their final project, students created their own escape rooms in Olin Building and invited their peers to try to break out of them.

Kaitlyn McCoy '26 didn't just study ancient Egyptian history in January. She lived it. McCoy was part of the Egypt: Temples, Tombs and Ancient Egyptian Religion course. The study abroad opportunity was part of a pilot program offering departmental courses during Interim. The course was taught by Dr. Jessica Tomkins, assistant professor of history, and counted as a general education course. "We learned about the gods that were worshipped, the kings who served and the architecture built in honor of the kings and gods at the time," says McCoy, a biology major from Greensboro, North Carolina. "What was so unique about this experience was having the opportunity to learn about a specific temple or tomb of a king while standing inside it."

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.

Emmy Monteverde '24 is making the most of her last time around with Wofford's Pulp Theatre Interim. In addition to serving as assistant director and set designer, Monteverde, a theatre and English double major from Easley, South Carolina, plays the role of Joshua, an associate pastor, in the group's production of Lucas Hnath's "The Christians." As the only senior in the course this year, she's also taken on an extra leadership role.

Wofford College provost Dr. Timothy Schmitz has announced Dean's List students for the fall 2023 semester.

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.