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Issue 11
April 4, 2008
NOLA: Hope and Dream
Habitat for Humanity Helps to Rebuild New Orleans
by Hanh Le ‘11
Staff Writer··································
After a 16 hour drive, we got to New Orleans, Louisiana (NOLA) on a warm and sunny day. Life here is so peaceful, in spite of the devastating Katrina three years ago. Our destination is Camp Hope, St. Bernard parish, which is a former middle school before Katrina and now is being used as a basic housing facility for volunteers. There were around 700 volunteers of all ages at Camp Hope by the time we were there. I was very surprised when talking with a pretty old lady from Maine who has volunteered here for months.
The volunteering work in NOLA was rewarding. Our day began at 6:30 am. We queued up for breakfast in the cafeteria, packed lunch, and headed to the building site which was 20 minutes away. We worked in conjunction with a great group of volunteers from AmeriCorps. We learned to saw, hammer, do sheeting, and gradually became masters at these tasks. The hammer in hands of volunteers made beautiful music. On the second day of building, Sharon, the owner of the house, came to visit the construction site. She was a great motivation that made us want to stay longer in a day to finish as many parts of the house as possible. It is true that when people reach out to help others, they change lives. And when they help a family achieve the dream of owning a home, they make a change that is truly profound.
Still many challenges remain for New Orleans, and now that we've been there it will be difficult for all of us to get the city off our minds. One late afternoon, we drove around the 9th Ward and quietly looked at many empty homes and closed stores. Disastrous Katrina forced many musicians to flee New Orleans. Jazz, blues, and other genres that are the city's musical score cannot return until the musicians return, and many have lost their homes. We had a chance to visit the Musicians' Village, which is a Habitat-constructed home for displaced New Orleans musicians and other qualifying Habitat partner families. Here, life is slowly reviving!!!
During our time at the building site, we were glad to make friends with the neighbors, especially a 2 year-old girl named Christine. Watching the little girl happily playing in the field, we all felt a fresh and new life is beginning. On our last day, Christine’s family baked a cake for us. It is not surprising to say that the cake was the best one I have ever had!
Five days’ building flew by in the twinkling of an eye. All the walls were raised and the hurricane catchers were nailed into those walls. As the message Chris Ray wrote on the floor before we left, this house is built on a foundation of love and friendship. There is a special place in our hearts for NOLA, for the New Orleanians and for Sharon. It’s not a good bye yet. We hope to come back, to bring hope, to help and see you again!!!
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Candidates Brought to Campus
Four Dean of Students Candidates have been selected
by Catherine Noyes ‘09
Editor-in-Chief··································
The R-MC Dean of Students Search Committee has narrowed its search considerably, and four candidates will be coming to campus over the next few weeks. The search process has been going on in different stages for almost a year now.
“There were really a number of strong candidates. I am very confident that the next Dean of Students will come from this pool,” said faculty representative, Ed Showalter.
The first candidate to visit campus will be Grant Azdell, who is currently the Vice President of Student Affairs at Lynchburg College. Azdell received his undergraduate degree from Lynchburg with a double major in Political Science and Religion. He then went on to receive a Master’s of Divinity from Vanderbilt, and is now working towards a Ph. D. at the University of Virginia, which he hopes to complete this spring. Beginning as the Chaplain at Lynchburg, Azdell was then promoted to Dean of Religious Life, and finally to his current position. He will be visiting R-MC on Wednesday, April 9.
The next candidate, Kevin Worthen, is the current Dean of Students at Lafayette College. He began at Lafayette in 1989 as the Assistant Director of Residence Life and Housing and was promoted to Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Residence Life and Housing, followed by a promotion to Dean of Students and Director of Student Life Administration. He graduated from the College of William and Mary with a degree in Psychology, obtained a Master’s of Science in College Student Personnel, and is working towards a Ph.D. in Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (to be completed this spring). Worthen will be visiting Randolph-Macon College on Friday, April 11.
Jeff Cathey is the Associate Dean of Students at Colorado College, and has been there since 2001, when he started as the Assistant Dean of Students. Prior to that, he worked at the University of Tennessee for six years, in various student life capacities. Cathey attended the University of Tennessee for undergraduate studies (receiving a degree in Animal Behavior) and graduate studies (receiving a Master’s of Science in College Student Personnel). His visit to R-MC is scheduled for Monday, April 14.
The final candidate, Edwin Cowell, will be arriving at Randolph-Macon on Monday, April 21. Cowell is the Dean of Students at Salisbury University in Maryland, before which he spent four years at the College of William and Mary, followed by two years at Bucknell University, and another three years at W&M. He graduated from Virginia Wesleyan with a major in Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University with a Master’s of Education Administration, and is a doctoral student at William and Mary.
Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Steven Nape, said “I really believe that the campus will appreciate these candidates for their personalities and their experience.”
The process to select a new Dean of Students began when Laurie Neff, who last held the position, announced that she would be accepting a position at her alma mater, Dennison University in Ohio. At that point, a search firm was brought in to coordinate the process.
The search firm compiled resumes from a number of sources, including through networking, direct solicitations, and advertisements. After gathering between 90 and 100 resumes, the firm narrowed the field to between 30 and 40. Those candidates were reviewed by the on-campus search committee.
Ten candidates were selected and brought in for airport interviews, which are not held on campus and typically last for around an hour. From those ten, these four were selected to come on to campus, and the possibility exists that that number will increase before the process comes to an end.
Once a candidate comes on campus, they will meet with several groups. This includes an open faculty/staff meeting and a lunch with selected students. Later, the search committee will gather additional information and make a recommendation to President Lindgren.
“I’ve really enjoyed working with the committee. I feel that we’ve made some very solid progress,” said Nape.
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