Wofford College

Capture the "everyday." That was one of Walker Antonio's assignments in a beginner painting class during the spring semester. What he captured expressed both the everyday and the extraordinary. "I decided I wanted to paint those who take care of not only me, but so many others every day," says Antonio '23, a studio art major from Kilmarnock, Virginia. "When times got hard due to COVID-19, these workers took extra time out of their day to ensure the safety of not just their coworkers, but the students as well."

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.

Two Wofford College students with a fourth-place finish in a statewide venture pitch competition last week won the college's sixth annual Terrier StartUp Challenge. Cassie Figueroa '24 and Alec Schrader '24 won $4,500 of the contest's $10,000 in start-up funding for their concept Campus Connections. The business is a consolidated website where college students can offer services, including haircuts, photography, oil changes, rides, etc. Students wanting to use those services could book appointments and pay through the website.

Seventy-five Wofford College students are studying abroad during the fall semester, and a few are offering insights on their experiences through blogs. Ten students are blogging, and it's proven to be a good exercise for them to journal and help the college's faculty and staff identify challenges students might experience.

Chardonnay Durrah's days often consist of 5 a.m. physical fitness tests with the Wofford College Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC), classwork and service with a couple of campus organizations. Whenever she needs some words of encouragement or help keeping things in perspective while honing her leadership skills, her dad is just a phone call away. Durrah '23 is a government major from Roebuck, South Carolina. Her father, Leroy Durrah '92, served 30 years in the U.S. Army before retiring in 2018 at the rank of master sergeant.

Dr. Lori Cruze and Dr. John Moeller and their students are working on a research project that's for the birds. Really. The purpose of the project is to measure the impact of different variables on the foraging habits of songbirds. Cruze, assistant professor of biology, and one of her classes started the project in the spring, setting up bird feeders on the periphery of campus. They measured the amount of seed the birds ate and whether the amount changed depending on whether the seeds were shelled or unshelled. They also introduced predators (fake owls) to gauge the impact of their presence on the birds' eating habits.

Dr. Youmi Efurd and Emma Humphries '22 are delivering hope and comfort to local individuals who are homeless. Efurd, Wofford's curator, has designed art activities and programming for clients of the Spartanburg Opportunity Center, which provides individuals in the community who are homeless with food, showers, clothing, laundry services and access to additional resources. Each Friday, Efurd and Humphries, an art history and government double major from Gaffney, South Carolina, lead the center's clients in a variety of activities, including painting, coloring, journal writing, meditation and gardening.

Robert Lamprecht '22 thought his summer internship would have him spending a lot of time building computer hardware and developing software. He was wrong. And he's OK with that. Lamprecht, a computer science major with a concentration in neuroscience from Moncks Corner, South Carolina, is one of 16 students from across the country selected for summer research programs at the University of Florida. Lamprecht is part of a team researching treatments for spinal cord injuries. The research focuses on respiratory issues associated with the injuries.

A lot of people have had Zoom calls with the boss over the past year and half. Fadzai Mushayamunda '22, is no exception. As part of her internship with NBC News' "TODAY" Show, Mushayamunda, a humanities major and Bonner Scholar from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, got to sit in on a call with The Boss. As in Bruce Springsteen. Mushayamunda also has been on calls with Jennifer Lopez, actor James Michael Tyler (Gunther from "Friends") and Brandon Flowers (lead singer and keyboardist for The Killers). "Mainly I'm in charge of recording the interviews," Mushayamunda says. "It's a lot of fun."

Yasmin Lee '23, a studio art major from Columbia, South Carolina, has received two awards through the Artists' Guild of Spartanburg, and she hopes to use the recognition to better connect the college's relatively new studio art program with the larger Spartanburg community. In May, Lee received the Judy and Brant Bynum Fine Art Award for her digital collage "Solitude." The award is given to rising juniors majoring in fine art at Spartanburg's colleges and universities. Last month, she was named Best Emerging Artist by the Artists' Guild of Spartanburg.

Eyon Brown '21 went straight from graduation to the hall of fame. Brown, who graduated in May with a B.A. degree in English, is spending his summer as a marketing intern at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Maggie Royce '22 was selected for an internship with Chick-fil-A's enterprise innovation team, which is housed at the company's support center in Atlanta, Georgia. The company is hosting about 75 interns this summer, but Royce is the only one with the enterprise innovation team.

Phi Beta Kappa inductions were held May 14, 2021. Phi Beta Kappa is Wofford's highest academic honor.

Phi Beta Kappa inductions were held May 14, 2021. Phi Beta Kappa is Wofford's highest academic honor.

Phi Beta Kappa inductions were held May 14, 2021. Phi Beta Kappa is Wofford's highest academic honor.

Phi Beta Kappa inductions were held May 14, 2021. Phi Beta Kappa is Wofford's highest academic honor.

Dr. Michael J. Sosulski, provost of Wofford College, has announced Dean's List students for the spring 2021 semester.

Wofford College conferred 364 degrees on 350 graduates during the 2021 Commencement exercies on Sunday, May 16.

Wofford College held its annual spring Honors Convocation on Friday, May 14.

Margaret Roach, a psychology major with a concentration in medicine and the liberal arts, from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, had a year like no other Wofford College Presidential International Scholar. The COVID-19 pandemic prevented her from traveling internationally to research the integration of traditional medicine with the biomedical approach to treating mental health in India. "I've definitely learned to be flexible and to come up with plan B, C, D and EI think that's what I'm on now," says Roach, who describes herself as having a Type A personality. Roach will discuss her year as the college's Presidential International Scholar during a webinar at noon on Thursday, May 13.

Wofford students receive awards during the annual Greek Awards program held on March 26, 2021.

In his Nobel Peace Prize address in 1964, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the importance of wiping out poverty. "No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern for 'the least of these,'" he said. Wofford Men of Color put those words into action to aid Spartanburg's homeless population as part of the college's MLK week celebration.

Wofford College's 38th Presidential International Scholar will spend the 2021-2022 academic year studying the relationship between public health and culture in Argentina and South Africa. Hector Ortiz '22, a triple major from Saluda, South Carolina, studying biology, philosophy and Spanish, was selected for the independent research abroad experience.

Dr. Michael J. Sosulski, provost of Wofford College, has announced Dean's List students for the Fall 2020 semester.

The staff of Wofford College's student newspaper, The Old Gold and Black, represented the college well in the South Carolina Press Association Annual Awards. Staff members were recognized with 10 awards for writing and editing.

Thirteen Wofford College students were inducted into Sigma Delta Pi, the national Spanish Honors Society, on Nov. 6.

Even though Wofford College was forced to postpone then cancel Commencement exercises for the Class of 2020, the college still celebrates the accomplishments of this resilient class.

Dozens of Wofford College's recent graduates received awards from the college for academic excellence, leadership and citizenship. The college was unable to celebrate these students during the annual Honors Convocation in the spring, but their achievements and contributions to Wofford deserve recognition.

The Elections and Nominations Committee of the Wofford College Campus Union announced the election of student body officers, class of 2021 officers and delegates, senior class officers and 2020-21 judicial commission officers.

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.