Quicknotes | november 2014

Each year, SouthEast Bank participates in a scholarship program to support local students at various colleges across the state. In 2011 it began partnering with Southern Adventist University. This year, three students—junior Katarina Weekes, sophomore Caitlyn Bennett, and freshman Joelle Kanyana—were awarded scholarships of $7,000 each.

"I’m grateful for the scholarship because I can now focus more fully on academics instead of finances," said Weeks, a business administration and public relations major. Click here to read the full story.

~ Ashley Noonan, Advancement Intern

There are a total of five elected commissioners for the City of Collegedale that serve a four-year term with staggered elections every two years. This fall, two seats were up for grabs. Ethan White, senior archaeology major, and Phil Garver, retired dean for the School of P.E., Health, and Wellness, were both elected Collegedale commissioners on November 4. Almost 3,000 voters showed up to the polls, one of the highest turnouts in the city’s history.

White is no stranger to the Collegedale area and is the second youngest city commissioner to be elected in Collegedale.

“I want to help shape Collegedale because Collegedale shaped me,” White said. “We want to do things to make sure Collegedale stays unique, a good hometown, and a good place to raise your family, so we need to be intentional about managing growth.”

Garver said he ran for city commissioner because he wants to repay a kindness to his community. When he arrived at Southern after the Vietnam War, the community took him in and made him feel welcome. He plans to continue improving public safety and also hopes to expand the Greenway, all while keeping the city financially sound.

Both candidates were sworn in on November 17 at the Collegedale City Hall.

Several Southern alums woke well before sunrise to gather with thousands of others to run either 13.1 or 26.2 miles. Annual Giving Officer, Cheryl Torres, '04, found herself saying, “Oh, hey! How are you?” more times than she expected as she ran into former classmates, past students, and other employees from the university.

The alumni had been lining up since 6:40 in the predawn cold of downtown Chattanooga, getting ready to run the half- and full-marathons at the fourth annual 7 Bridges Marathon event. Nearly 1,700 people were behind the starting line when the race began.

Just a few years ago, Southern chose to focus its Quality Enhancement Program (QEP) on physical exercise, mostly because of how it impacts our brains. Alumni are prevalent in many of the sporting events that take place on Sundays in the Chattanooga area: races, triathlons, IronMan competitions, and more.

Torres said, “It’s clear to me that exercise plays a big role in the lives of alumni who graduated long before the QEP was put into place, and it’s encouraging to see that so many still take seriously the health portion of our message as Seventh-day Adventists.”

If you’ve run, biked, or swam in a race, let us know. It’s great to see alumni who are active, and for Torres, it was encouraging to find so many familiar faces on that chilly morning.

~ Xenia Figueroa, Alumni Relations Assistant

In the summer of 2013 plans were first discussed about how to supply food and toiletries for Southern students and their families in financial need. Those visions are now a reality as Community Tree Pantry recently opened its doors on campus due in large part to the efforts of graduate students and support from the School of Social Work.

Marlenny Franco-Johnson and Tania Barry, both social work graduate students, brought this idea to Mioara Diaconu, MSW program director, and Kristie Wilder, '03, dean of the School of Social Work. Diaconu developed this project under the umbrella and structure of an MSW administrative course. It was then that MSW students Krystal Campbell and Alex Fletcher also became an important part of developing the project.

Several assessments and analyses were made to see the extent of the need on campus. Once this need was identified through qualitative and quantitative results, the graduate students began to take forward steps to address the need. They were able to identify that the need was for more than food, but also essentials such as toilet paper, diapers, toothpaste, deodorant, etc. Moreover, they identified that there are a number of Southern students who at some point have applied, or are currently receiving food stamps, due to the financial struggle of the economy. Stakeholders expressed an interest in supporting this cause and several others were contacted for contributions.

Several Southern employees were asked for assistance and the initiative was well received. Mindy Wiygul, assistant professor in the History and Political Studies Department, and her husband, Philip, donated fruits and vegetables from their garden so that fresh food would be available to supplement canned goods and other nonperishables offered at the pantry.

“The more people who become involved, the more people will be reached with this ministry,” Franco-Johnson said.

The graduate students met with additional experts outside of Southern in the area of community development who have experience running a pantry and gained better insight on how to best start this project. The need for donations has been advertised, and provisions are coming in. They officially opened March 24 in a small area at the back of Fleming Plaza.

For more information about the pantry, email organizers or call 423.218.9116. Its hours of operation are Monday and Wednesday from 5-7 p.m. You can also follow the Community Tree Pantry on Facebook and Twitter.

“God has provided an opportunity for the Community Tree Pantry to be developed and has provided people who are willing to support this resource on our campus.” Franco-Johnson said.

Nurses across the United States have spoken out in recent weeks about the Ebola virus. Some of these health professionals have contracted it from their patients, and others have been quarantined for weeks.

At Southern, generations of nurses—as well as dentistry and pharmacy students—have been trained to deal with the Ebola virus before heading overseas to treat patients in the developing world, and they undergo a thorough screening process.

"Nurses have always risen to the occasion to meet the healthcare needs of their patients locally and globally, and they receive the appropriate training,” said Barbara James, dean for the School of Nursing. “Just as influenza, tuberculosis, and HIV have been challenging diseases to deal with, when new diseases become more prominent nurses will be there to meet the challenges."

Sonia Wrate, nursing professor at Southern, says she is not surprised by the struggles nurses are facing on the front lines during the Ebola outbreak.

"Nurses go into it realizing the risk—not just from Ebola but there are many other dangerous diseases out in the world—and heart to do what needs to be done."

National Chemistry Week takes place annually during the fourth week of October, and this year Southern’s Chemistry Club celebrated in a big way! The national theme was "The Sweet Side of Chemistry: Candy", so the club developed a Candyland themed display to cover the hallways around the Chemistry Department.

The club gave away a different type of candy each day and shared a daily chemistry fact for each kind of candy. Faculty got involved, too, providing candy, making cupcakes, and sharing ideas.

“The hard work that we put into it paid off,” said Emelyn Magtanongsenior, a senior biochesmistry major and Chemistry Club president. “We received great feedback from the displays, and it exposed people to the fun side of chemistry!”

Chemistry Department chair Brent Hamstra heard positive comments about the exhibit as well.

“I really appreciated the time and effort our students put into developing a visually appealing display,” he said. “It was fun and informative and seemed to catch people's attention.”