Finding a voice

Admittedly shy, Christina Budd ’13 has never been used to speaking in front of large crowds. But as a new student at Randolph College last year, she found herself compelled to step up to a microphone in front of a large audience at a student government town hall meeting.

Christina Budd, right, has found that participating in campus life
has helped her fit in at Randolph and increase her self confidence

Budd spoke about the beautiful campus that had helped attract her to Randolph as a transfer student, and she shared suggestions she thought would make life easier for the staff that cleans and maintains the campus. The rest of that week, people approached her and thanked her for speaking up—a reaction she hadn’t expected.

“I’ve learned that I do have a voice,” Budd said, reflecting on that experience and other lessons at Randolph. “I’m a naturally introverted person, but I have found that people are willing to listen to what I have to say, and they seem to respond well to it. That has given me so much confidence in myself that I never had before.”

Meet Lisa Davies

As a community college graduate who went on to receive a master’s degree, Lisa knows much about navigating college as a transfer. She now advises students thinking about transferring to Randolph.

Budd, from Roanoke, Virginia, first heard about Randolph at a college fair in high school. She took note of it because of school’s creative writing program. After one year at Virginia Western  Community College, she learned about Virginia Private College Week, an event in July when people who tour at least three participating schools receive application fee waivers. She decided that would be a good opportunity to visit Randolph.

“I think it was love at first sight,” she said. “The buildings were so incredibly beautiful. I knew I would be able to learn best at a small college where I could know my professors and have a relationship with them.” Soon, she was meeting with an admissions counselor and getting advice on which courses to take during her second year at the community college to best prepare for Randolph. Budd is now majoring in history and minoring in sociology.

By the end of her second semester, Budd was involved in numerous clubs on campus and had served as an officer for some of them. This year, she is the vice president of Randolph’s Circle K International, a service club. She is helping the group organize participation in Relay for Life, March of Dimes, and a dance for teenagers and adults with disabilities. The group also hosts campus cleanup activities about once a month, Budd said.

Her involvement with many activities helped Budd make many friends despite being new to Randolph. “I got involved on campus through clubs, volunteering, and special events,” she said. “That’s what I did, and that’s what helped me become better known on campus.”

Tattered bumper sticker leads to new friendship between Emily Fields '16 and Daisy Jenkins Fletcher '50

Emily Fields '16

Just before the academic year began this summer, Emily Fields ’16 was visiting Nags Head, North Carolina, with her grandfather. She imagined the vacation would be a great get-away before she headed off to Randolph. What she didn’t realize was that a walk through the parking lot of her hotel would set off a chain of events that would result in her meeting a kindred spirit—an Even one at that.

“I saw an R-MWC bumper sticker on one of the cars at the hotel,” Fields said. “It was old and tattered, and I got so excited. I thought I’m just going into school, and she’s out of school, and she must have lots of stories.”

During her stay, she asked around the hotel to see who owned the car. On the last day, she made a spur-of-the-moment decision to put a letter with her e-mail on the car’s windshield. “I told her I was a first-year student at Randolph, and I had heard so much about the College. I told her that I wanted to learn more, and if she had any stories, I would love to hear them.”

Daisy Jenkins Fletcher '50

That car belonged to Daisy Jenkins Fletcher ’50. Her daughter, who had borrowed the car for a trip to the beach, delivered the note. “I wasn’t surprised,” Fletcher remembered. “Whenever I’ve been driving and seen a sticker, I usually honk or something.”

While she also proudly displays her new Randolph College sticker, Fletcher has never been able to bring herself to scrape the beloved R-MWC bumper sticker off her older vehicle.

Fields’ note reminded Fletcher of her first days at the College, and she quickly sent her an e-mail sharing a few stories. “She e-mailed me, and then I e-mailed her,” Fletcher said. “It’s been fun. She is so enthusiastic and bubbly, and I’m so sure she is going to have a wonderful time at Randolph.”

Those first e-mails were the beginning of what both women hope will be a lasting friendship, and Fields said they helped her feel more comfortable during the first weeks of school. “I was curious about the College, and I really wanted to get a feel for what our alumnae are like,” Fields said. “It was great that we were both Evens, and she let me know about some of the songs I would be learning. She told me all about her professors and a lot about what it was like when she went to school.”

Fields began to see similarities between her own experiences and Fletcher’s memories. “I’m really excited to know someone who went through some of the same stuff I am going through,” she said. “I want to tell her my stories and I want to hear hers. It is neat to see how much about the College is the same.”

An American citizen, Fletcher grew up in England, where she lived during WWII. She came to R-MWC at the request of her father. “It was a whole new world for me,” she remembered. “The warmth and caring of everyone just overwhelmed me. I hadn’t expected that, and it made it so much easier.”

Fields can’t wait to experience everything Randolph has to offer her. “You always see these happy people standing around laughing with their professors,” she said. “I always thought there was no way anyone could be that happy in real life. But when I got to Randolph, it really was like that. Everyone seemed involved and excited to learn and be a part of a community. I like that, and I’m glad I’m a part of that now.”

Fletcher is looking forward to watching Fields embrace the life more abundant. “R-MWC gave me a great sense of values,” she said. “The things that were so wonderful to me initially and for the rest of my life were the friendships, the close contact with faculty members, and the Honor System. The College gave me a great feeling of belief in myself, and it made me realize that knowledge is important in living a full life. But it also taught me that friendships are right up there in importance.”

Fletcher is grateful that her alma mater is still enriching her life with those friendships, even 65 years since she experienced her own first weeks at the College.

She has no doubt that Fields will find the same sense of place at Randolph, and she hopes that one day she will be able to meet her in person. “I am thoroughly enjoying hearing about and sharing Emily’s experiences and have been telling people about it,” Fletcher said. “My girls even want to know how Emily is doing. It’s been a very bright spot in the past month.”

New professor's research explores power of words in politics

If you want to parse the language of the latest political advertisements, Vincent Vecera will be happy to join the conversation. If you would rather talk about 1960s jazz music or more recent hip hop, he still would love to talk.

Vecera, a new political science professor at Randolph College, believes words become weapons in politics. He especially enjoys digesting political messages to see the power behind the words. “I don't really follow sports because politics is my sport,” he said. “Politics is the only sport where the trophy matters. The trophy is the order of human civilization.”

In graduate school at the University of Minnesota, Vecera studied the way language sways public discourse. He spent 3,000 hours reading newspapers from across the 20th century and recording the arguments made on a variety of legal issues ranging from abortion and gun regulation to rent control and marriage. He focused on how using the language of civil and political rights changed the discussion of those issues.

“What I showed in my dissertation is that the words we use matter,” Vecera said. He is now writing a book based on that dissertation.

His assessment of the current presidential election? It is more boring than usual, he said. “In one sense, the power of words has been decreased because there has been more material lying,” Vecera said. He predicts a much more interesting 2016 election with a comeback from the party that loses this year.

Vecera chose to teach at Randolph because of the spirit of community that he felt when he visited the campus. People around campus seemed to know and respect each other, he said. The dedication to the school’s honor code strengthened that feeling of community.

“Every college has an honor code, but I was struck by how, throughout my meetings here, people kept coming back to that,” he said. “It was a really wonderful testament to a culture here.”

“I always wanted to work at a small liberal arts college—Not only a teaching college, but a place that had a sense of community and values,” Vecera said. “That made my decision to choose Randolph, instead of a couple of other places, very easy.”

When he is not teaching or writing, Vecera has a passion for music. He listens to five or six new albums each week. He owns about 2,000 records, and he deejayed many parties in college. Some of his favorite genres include 20th century classical music, jazz from the late 1950s and 1960s, and underground hip hop, he said.

Since arriving on campus, Vecera has been impressed by how welcoming and warm everyone has been—and how warm the temperature has been to him since he is acclimated to Minnesota weather. He feels that he is in the right place. “A tenure track position at a place like this is, to me, like winning the lottery,” he said.

Transfer student prepares for teaching career through Randolph classes, research project

After attending a community college for one year, Dominique Rose ’14 was looking for a small college that could help him in his quest to become a teacher. After he learned about the education program at Randolph—which would allow him to finish his bachelor’s degree and quickly earn a master’s degree in teaching—the decision was easy.

Studying at Randolph also gave Rose a unique opportunity to study teaching. This year, he participated in a Summer Research project that explored the attributes and characteristics teachers need and measured the success of Randolph’s education program.

“Subject matter knowledge doesn’t make you a good teacher,” Rose said. “You have to be able to communicate and understand your students. You need to be well versed in teaching, able to reach students with different learning styles.”

Dominique Rose ’14 explains his Summer Research project to Randolph professors
Tatiana Gilstrap and Holly Tatum during a Summer Research Symposium on Sept. 1.

Rose grew up in Amherst County, just across the James River from Randolph College. After graduating from high school, he attended Central Virginia Community College. He transferred to Randolph after attending an open house and deciding the education program was the right fit.

In his first semester at Randolph, Rose’s largest class had only 20 students—which is large compared to many classes at Randolph, but small compared to classes at other colleges Rose had considered. He enjoys being able to work closely with faculty. “The professors here are so friendly, they’re able to build relationships with students,” Rose said. “I can email my professors and they usually email me back within a few hours. That is so convenient.”

During one of Rose’s classes, his work caught the attention of education professor Roberta Parker. “I was very impressed by his tenacity and work ethic,” Parker said. “He is a conscientious student—always willing to go above and beyond to accomplish any task set before him.”

Parker invited Rose to join her and another education professor, Peggy Schimmoeller, for a project in Randolph’s Summer Research Program. They were assessing how well Randolph’s curriculum helps students gain the knowledge and attributes of good teachers.

Rose spent the summer reading current research about effective teaching practices and interviewing Randolph graduates who are now teachers. He asked them about the professional attributes and teaching skills that they developed at Randolph and how they are applying those skills in the classroom. He recently presented his findings in a symposium for the Summer Research Program.

Rose is pursuing certifications for special education, elementary education, and physical education. After finishing his undergraduate studies, he plans to enroll in Randolph’s one-year Master of Arts in Teaching program.

Outside of his studies, Rose is engaged in extracurricular activities. He is a student government senator for his residence hall, and he is a leader in Campus Outreach, a Christian fellowship ministry for students.

He said transfer students who look for opportunities can find many ways to integrate with campus life. “People here are so friendly, and they enjoy making new friends and carrying on good conversations,” Rose said.

Randolph College Research Team Featured on Local News Broadcast

A Randolph College professor and two students shared their thoughts on organic farming during a story on WDBJ 7's evening broadcast September 4.

Adam Houlihan, a biology professor, Laura Word ’13, and Michael Taylor ’13 conducted research this summer (http://randolphcollege.blogspot.com/2012/07/grass-and-free-range-chicken-diets.html) exploring the best practices for raising healthy chickens that produce high-quality eggs. Using the chickens in Randolph’s Organic Garden, Word and Taylor placed one group of chickens in an area without grass and another in an area with grass. They then tracked the health and egg quality of the hens from each group.

Their research, which compared the benefits of two types of organic methods, is similar to research conducted by Stanford University published September 4 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The Stanford scientists studied the health benefits of organic and conventional foods. That study found that organic food is not necessarily healthier than non-organic food. The Randolph team, however, found there was a difference in the egg quality in free range chickens.

Houlihan, Word, and Taylor talked with Tim Saunders, a reporter from WDBJ 7. Randolph’s chickens and Einstein the rooster even got in on the action. The story aired Tuesday evening. Check it out at http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wdbj7-no-health-benefit-to-organic-food-lynchburg-researcher-reacts-to-new-study-20120904,0,1947395.story.

Laura Word '13 explains the differences in eggs.

Tim Saunders of WDBJ 7 gets up close and personal with one of Randolph's hens.

Adam Houlihan, a Randolph biology professor, talks about organic gardening and farming with Tim Saunders.

(Left) Michael Taylor '13 works in the Organic Garden while Tim Saunders (center) shoots video with Laura Word '13 (right).

A Good Deed: Randolph students translate Chinese for local medical facility

Thanks to two Randolph College juniors studying Chinese, a local medical facility was able to help a patient be more comfortable as she recovered from surgery.

Recently, May Soe ’14 and Julie Doan ’14 were called on to translate for a Chinese-speaking patient at the Lynchburg Health and Rehabilitation Center. Within a few hours, they were at the patient’s side.

“They were worried that they might not be providing enough services because they couldn’t talk with her,” said Soe.

Julie Doan ’14 and May Soe ’14

The 86-year-old patient had been in an accident that required surgery, said Doan. “She was very lonely because there was no one she could talk to,” she said. “Her children live far away.”

Soe, from Myanmar, is majoring in business and minoring in Chinese Studies. Doan, who is from Vietnam, is majoring in political science and global studies and minoring in philosophy and Chinese Studies.

Each of them spent this summer in China. Soe was working in an internship with Energizer Corp. while Doan was studying in an intense Chinese program offered by Princeton University. Randolph’s Chinese program aims to help students learn to speak and read Chinese with the help of weekly tutoring sessions.

The students were happy to be able to use their language skills to assist someone locally. “It felt really good. It was our present to her,” said Doan, who also has translated Vietnamese for public schools near Randolph.

Nancy Goulde, coordinator of international student services, helped the rehabilitation center connect with Doan and Soe. “I am thankful and proud we have such caring students on campus,” she said.

Student Center Renovation Update: September 3, 2012

Randolph's $6 million Student Center renovation has made dramatic progress in recent weeks. Check out the latest slideshow at http://web.randolphcollege.edu/studentcenter/slideshow/sept3/index.html. For a comprehensive look at the Student Center renovation, please visit www.randolphcollege.edu/studentcenter.