Gardner-Webb NewsCenter Archive

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  Photojournalism Student Almost let Distance Keep her from Attending GWU

  Office of University Communications

  Gardner-Webb University is more than 1,100 miles from Elizabeth Banfield’s home in Mankato, Minn. Before visiting here, she didn’t think any place could entice her to pack up and leave family and friends. “I have an aunt and uncle who live in Forest City, N.C., and they mentioned to me there was a Christian university close to them,” she recalled.

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  GWU Physician Assistant Graduate Appreciated Program’s Class Size

  Office of University Communications

  As a Physician Assistant Student in a women’s health clinical rotation, Caitlin Heredia typically began her day at 6 a.m. assisting with surgeries. “Being a first assistant basically means that you are the surgeon’s third and fourth hands, so you maintain an open view of the area being operated on, hold retractors, maneuver the laparoscopic camera and instruments, and help close the incisions with sutures when the case is finished,” Heredia explained. “Surgeries may be as quick as 45 minutes, but I even assisted in one that lasted six hours. After our morning surgical cases, we either stayed at the hospital for an on-call day or headed to the clinic.”

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  Exhibit at Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby, N.C., Showcases Photography of Gardner-Webb Alum

  Office of University Communications

  In a career that spanned 34 years, Don Sturkey, 1952 alum of Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, N.C., captured historical photos of desegregation, Ku Klux Klan rallies, poverty in the South and even an unknown Elvis Pressley. An exhibit featuring his work, “Carolina Faces: The Photography of Don Sturkey,” will be displayed at the Earl Scruggs Center: Music & Stories from the American South in Shelby, N.C., Jan. 23-May 15. The award-winning Charlotte (N.C.) Observer photographer learned the art while serving in the Navy.

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  Faculty in GWU Physician Assistant Program Offer Support and Encouragement

  Office of University Communications

  Sarah E. McManus has been interested in a career in healthcare for most of her life and considered going to medical school after completing her bachelor of science at N.C. State University. However, as she began to explore her options and think about her future, a Physician Assistant program seemed a better choice. “As a woman who would like to get married and have a family someday, I decided that being a PA would provide for more flexibility and less time in school,” she shared.

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  Gardner-Webb Divinity Student Works to Share God’s Love in Africa

  Office of University Communications

  Born in a Christian home in the African nation of Burundi, Ornella Umubyeyi was a young girl when her family moved to the neighboring nation of Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. According to the United Human Rights Council, 800,000 people were killed in the massacre that lasted three months. The bloodshed was the result of decades of strife between the Hutu ethnic majority and the Tutsi minority.

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  Gardner-Webb Exercise Science Grad Confident About her Future

  Office of University Communications

  The first time Alexandra Joy “AJ” Francioni (’15) visited Gardner-Webb University, she found something she didn’t expect. Interested in the University’s new exercise science major, Francioni discovered that a city girl from Chicago, Ill., could feel right at home in Boiling Springs, N.C. “I met so many great people and everyone was extremely friendly,” she recalled.

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  Gardner-Webb Prepared Alum for International Mission Work

  Office of University Communications

  The daughter of international missionaries, Michelle Palacio (’13) never thought the occupation was her calling in life. That was until a summer internship with a familiar mission organization showed her how she could blend her passion for global issues with resources to improve lives. Experiences during and after that internship changed her perspective and, ultimately, led to a career opportunity after her graduation from Gardner-Webb University.

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  Grad Found a Home on Gardner-Webb Campus

  Office of University Communications

  When Merideth Byl (’16) of Tucson, Ariz., began her college hunt, she wanted to find a Christian school where she could take pre-med and biblical studies. Using a college search engine, she discovered a place called Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C., met all her criteria. “I was ready to get out and explore and figured that college was a great time to do that. I checked out the Gardner-Webb website and found myself continually checking it to get updated on the news stories,” she recalled.

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  GWU Physician Assistant Program Helps Student Achieve Longtime Goal

  Office of University Communications

  Joel Stiles, a member of the first GWU cohort, dreamed of becoming a Physician Assistant (PA) for several years. In his previous job with a national home infusion provider working with patients in their homes, Stiles had an opportunity to work with several PAs. They impressed him with the care they were able to provide.

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  GWU School of Divinity Grad Prepared to Serve the Church

  Office of University Communications

  In any given week—sometimes on any day—a pastor’s job could take him to the pulpit to preach, the hospital to pray, a home to rejoice or the funeral home to comfort. When the Rev. Garin Hill (’15), pastor of First Baptist Church in Forest City, N.C., encounters these situations, he recalls the wisdom shared by professors in the Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity. “Truly, the conversations and work I engaged in at Gardner-Webb come to the fore every day in my life as a pastor,” Hill affirmed.

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  Gardner-Webb Grad Teaching at Arizona State and Completing First Book

  Office of University Communications

  Jason Bruner (’05) was near the end of his career at Gardner-Webb University when his future became clear. Influenced by several professors in the Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy, he vividly remembers the moment teaching became a possibility. “I took several classes from the late Dr. Dan Goodman in the School of Divinity. It was in his classes that I first thought, ‘If I ever become a professor, I’d want to do it half as well as he does it,’” Bruner shared.

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  Gardner-Webb Math Graduate Appreciates Liberal Arts Education

  Office of University Communications

  Cortney Kerley Beckler’s job as a teacher at the non-profit St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth and Families in Hyattsville, Md., demands versatility. Not only does the 2011 Gardner-Webb University graduate rely on her mathematics education classes, she also recalls her liberal arts studies. “Gardner-Webb’s academic programs were rigorous and prepared me to be confident with the high school math material that I would be teaching,” she observed.

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  Gardner-Webb Outstanding Female Graduate Prepared for Next Challenge

  Office of University Communications

  At times during her Gardner-Webb University career, Katie Elizabeth Faith Loftin (’15) questioned her choice to major in biology and minor in chemistry. But with the help of a supportive faculty, she excelled academically and learned more than scientific concepts, laws and theories. “My experience at Gardner-Webb prepared me for a career in a variety of ways. Most tangibly, it taught me how to be confident and more outgoing,” shared Loftin, who plans to pursue a career in photography while working as a veterinary technician.

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  GWU Alum Changed Major to Pursue Career in Counseling

  Office of University Communications

  Mary Hellstrom came to Gardner-Webb University as a nursing major, but left with a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies. She switched majors her freshman year, and during the next four years at the University, she experienced both academic and personal growth. “It is one of the best choices I have ever made, hands down, following the decision to attend GWU in the first place,” she stated.

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  GWU Athletic Training was Right Choice for Transfer Student

  Office of University Communications

  Taylor Thompson (’16) of Mooresville, N.C., transferred to athletic training at Gardner-Webb University with a specific goal in mind. She wanted to excel on the Board of Certification Exam for athletic trainers. “My previous institution had a very low exam pass rate,” she shared.

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  GWU Studies Help Graduate Connect Research with Faith

  Office of University Communications

  As a religious studies and philosophy major at Gardner-Webb, Scott Ryan received the Greek Award and the Christian Service Award. After graduation, he was accepted to Duke University Divinity School, where he received Master of Divinity and Master of Theology degrees and was honored with the Excellence in Bible Award for his graduating class. Ryan is currently a candidate for the Ph.D. in New Testament at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, with an anticipated graduation date of 2016, writing his dissertation on the Apostle Paul’s adaptations of divine conflict themes in the letter to the Romans.

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  Lessons learned at GWU provide insight in day-to-day job situations

  Office of University Communications

  Molly Caitlin McKinney (’12) developed academic as well as practical skills as a student in the communication studies program at Gardner-Webb University. “I was totally unaware that I learned so much under the wing of the Gardner-Webb communications department until I made it to my first job,” she observed. “The long nights in the Mac lab waiting for my project to render in Final Cut Express served as a real lesson on what not to do on the job post-graduation—procrastinate. The countless interviews for public relations classes with Dr. Lisa Luedeman coupled with lectures by Dr. Joseph Webb that seemed like something I should have been listening to in an auditorium at Harvard Law all created the experience, lessons and learning environment—that despite my thoughts at the time—ended up being most conducive to my current job.”

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  Gardner-Webb Graduate Working to Refine Treatments for Cancer Patients

  Office of University Communications

  A unique combination of degrees allows Gardner-Webb University alum William Payne (‘14) to work extensively in designing targeted therapy for cancer patients. With support from the Gardner-Webb faculty, Payne, who is from Pendleton, Ind., completed majors in chemistry and computer science with minors in mathematics and biology. His doctoral research in biomedical engineering at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., gives doctors more tools to treat breast and pancreatic cancers.

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  Gardner-Webb Training Prepared Graduate for First Job

  Office of University Communications

  As athletic trainer for Shelby (N.C.) High School, Brandon Smith (’15) aims to be a source of encouragement for the student-athletes under his care. “I enjoy having the opportunity to work with high school students and hopefully make a positive impact on their lives, whether it is by helping them realize what they want to do with their lives, being someone they can to talk to and counsel with, or just by being a role model,” Smith shared.

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  Couple Who Met at GWU Have Ministry to Soldiers and Their Families

  Office of University Communications

  Corie Weathers met her husband, Matthew, at Gardner-Webb University, where they graduated in 1999 and answered a call to ministry. She was working on a degree in counseling, and he was a religious education major. When their friendship turned into a dating relationship, they discovered a common goal.

  WGWG: Corie and Matthew Weathers speak at GWU

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  Gardner-Webb University Partners with Scholarship Program Funded by Gates Foundation

  Office of University Communications

  Gardner-Webb University will offer numerous opportunities for students to earn money to help pay for college, thanks to a new partnership with a program supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. GWU has joined Raise.me, an organization that seeks to empower prospective college students by providing individual scholarships for a variety of academic, extracurricular, service and work achievements during high school. “Gardner-Webb University and Raise.me agree that students should be recognized for accomplishments beyond just a grade-point average and test scores,” explained David Hawsey, GWU Vice President for Enrollment Management.

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  Degree Completion Program First Step to Lifetime of Achievements

  Office of University Communications

  Neal Alexander, a member of the Gardner-Webb Board of Trustees, held a top position with Duke Energy before being tapped by North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory for a position in state government. He’s also received Gardner-Webb’s highest recognition of merit, the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. And recently, he was named as the interim dean for the Godbold School of Business.

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  Alumna will Study Infectious Diseases in Postdoctoral Fellowship

  Office of University Communications

  Workers often encounter a host of chemicals while exploring mining, hydraulic fracturing and other occupational sites across the country. In the historically mining-rich state of West Virginia, Gardner-Webb alumna Carrie Long (’11) is studying the impacts of some of those substances on the human immune system, in hopes of discovering information that will lead to health improvements for workers in a variety of professional fields. A Ph.D. candidate at West Virginia University (Morgantown, W.Va.), Long performs research in labs connected to both WVU and the neighboring Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health facility.

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  GWU Physician Assistant (PA) Student Values Program’s Christ-Centered Focus

  Office of University Communications

  Wendy Riley drives three hours each day to attend the Physician Assistant Studies program at Gardner-Webb University, because she knows she’s receiving a quality education from caring professionals. “The Christ-centered focus has a welcoming feeling and my sense is that the faculty wants us to learn, and grow, and succeed — not because they want to check the box that says X percent of positions filled, X percent graduation rate, or X percent pass rate on the boards (although I know that is the goal),” she stated. “You don’t feel like a number here. You feel like a person who wants to go out into the world and make a difference in the lives of others. This program fosters that desire. I think that sets this program apart from others.”

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  Gardner-Webb MBA Student Starts Career Before Graduation

  Office of University Communications

  Before completing his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2012 at Gardner-Webb University, Benjamin “Evan” Rhodes was offered a job with Fastenal Company in Shelby, N.C. By the time he finished his degree, he was a top-ranking sales representative, which led to another job opportunity. “I was recruited to fill a territory sales manager position for a family-owned flooring manufacturer called J&J Invision,” Rhodes shared.