summer 2011 Since his commissioning in May, Wing Commander Cadet Craig Black has committed to a career aviator position within the U.S. Air Force. “I am pursuing a career to become an officer in the military to honor my country and to continue a family legacy. My father and grandfather were both in the Navy,” the 22-year-old scholarship recipient said. “The AFROTC program has taught me that no matter how far you climb in your professional, social, and academic development, there is always room for growth. [...]

Summer 2011 Detachment 172 Alumni Chapter The hundreds of cadets who have graduated from Valdosta State University’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 172 are scattered throughout the world, serving at military installations or engaged in the civilian workforce. In early 2011, retired Col. Gene Carter, ’87, rallied the troops and took leadership as president of the Detach- ment 172 Alumni Chapter. The defense industry consultant is working with the detachment to establish a website and other social networking connections with the diverse and global alumni base. [...]

Fall 2009 Georgia Teacher of the Year:Educator Honored for Energetic Passion and Student Interaction:Fall 2009 By Thressea Boyd        THE BOSTON TEA PARTY, the Great Depression, Pearl Harbor and the XYZ Affair — from A to Z, students in Gwen Desselle’s U.S. history class moved through the alphabet naming events that spanned 230 plus years. In game show fashion, the 2010 Georgia Teacher of the Year kept the students engaged as they reviewed for their final test in U.S. history.       [...]

Fall 2009  By Kate H. Elliott Zola Myers, ’96            DRUG ADDICTION IS OFTEN conveyed in news reports and professional journals through statistical research. Data are an ideal means to illustrate trends and calculate the effectiveness of programs; but as executive director for Cook County Family Connection, Zola Myers witnesses the personal struggles of addiction every day. In 2007, Myers published a book filled with anonymous accounts of teenagers and young adults in Lowdnes and Cook counties as they journey through addiction and sometimes recovery. The book also delves into the broad [...]

       Fall 2009   FORMER LADY BLAZER KATHLEEN “Katie” Steffen, ’07, was awarded a Fulbright- Garcia Robles Scholarship for the Bi-National Business Program. The U.S. Department of State grant provides American students the opportunity to acquire professional experi- ence and cultural understanding working for a company or non-profit organization in Mexico.        In September, the summa cum laude gradu- ate began the prestigious full-time internship program with the New Business and Finance        Department of Nestle Mexico, Mexico City. She will work [...]

By Kate Heine Bill Kell, ’72, was eating lunch forty years ago when three fellow Valdosta State College students pulled up to his grandmother’s house in a 1965 Ford Fairlane. The boys needed a drummer to round out their garage band sound, and they heard Kell had beat on his used Ludwig drum kit since the age of 14. Between bites of his sandwich, Kell signed on. The first order of business was settling on a name, and after testing several, the group came up [...]

By Kate Heine Virginia Culpepper, ’34, readjusted bifocals on the edge of her nose to examine the blurred faces of a picture in an aging Pine Cone yearbook. The black and white image captured the campus May Queen cloaked in lace and adorned with assorted roses to celebrate the coming summer months. “Gosh, that was a long time ago, but I remember them crowning me and hoisting me up on the throne like it was yesterday,” said Culpepper, who graduated as Virginia Hutchinson in 1934 [...]

By Kate Heine Chase Murphy’s greatest homework assignment — 67 pages, double-spaced — wasn’t for a grade in a college class, but for a request to organize the first Sigma Chi fraternity at Valdosta State University. Murphy and longtime friend, Cole Roberts — a sophomore business major — have spent the past six months gathering support and writing a “declaration of intent” to pronounce their commitment to the fraternity’s core values — friendship, justice and academic achievement. The cluster of about 18 VSU students working [...]

By Natalie Quinn Brandi Allen easily fell in line with her father’s footsteps. The 21-year-old junior grew up watching her father perform intricate rhythms of steps and claps in unison with other members of the Phi Beta Sigma step team at Valdosta State University. Allen knew from the moment she saw her first step performance that it would be an activity instilled in her forever. “My dad always reminisces about his times on the step team, talking about his performances in the old gym,” said [...]

By Kate Heine Ron Yearwood experienced an unexpected stroke two years ago that left the 38-year-old unable to complete simple tasks, such as holding a pencil or brushing his hair. Learning that he would never regain his abilities, Yearwood’s parents took him and his medical bills home with little faith. The resident of Athens, Ga., worked hard to progress, and within a year was able to get out of bed, shower, get dressed and eat without assistance. Although times began to look up for his [...]