Trading red roofs

JMU Be the Changer Christian Schwantes (’12) traded the red roofs of Madison for the red roofs of Stanford University after he graduated in 2010. Recently Be the Change intern Tyler McAvoy (’12) caught up with Christian to get an update on what he is doing….

Christian Schwantes (’10) may have graduated two years ago with an impressive amount of research to his name, but he didn’t stop there.  Christian went on to Stanford University and is currently enrolled in the prestigious Ph.D. program in the Department of Chemistry.

Much of his time is spent conducting research on peptides and improving methodology for analyzing protein folding simulations. He combines his math and chemistry double major from JMU into a single discipline, making much of the simulation process automatic.

Protein folding is a random process, and though proteins fold “correctly” most of the time, on occasion mis-folding can occur.  Mis-folding is thought to be the underlying causes of neurological disorders like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Christian’s research is focused on discovering why mis-folding occurs, allowing future scientists to develop a method to prevent it.

The work is on-going, but Christian prefers to move away from typical test-tube experiments. Instead, he prefers to watch how this process happens in the cell, a more realistic approach to learning about this process.

– by Tyler McAvoy (’12)

Read Christian’s profile on the Be the Change website: http://www.jmu.edu/bethechange/people/schwantes.shtml

Still busy fighting …

Patrick Wiggins (far right) and friends who helped with  HARTS – Harrisonburg’s thermal shelter for the homeless

Patrick Wiggins (’11) has been busy this past year as a first year masters of public health student at Drexel University. His passion to abate hunger problems worldwide has turned into full-fledged pursuit of solutions to this problem.

In May 2012, Patrick helped organize Beyond Hunger: Real People. Real Solutions, a national conference on hunger and poverty that attracted hundreds of spectators and participants, including those who had been directly impacted by poverty and hunger in the United States.  The conference was a unique event, as not only did it feature researchers, students and philanthropists as speakers, but also “true experts” as Patrick calls them — those who have experienced poverty and hunger firsthand. Patrick’s desire to end hunger that he displayed through his undergrad volunteer work in Harrisonburg area soup kitchens, is expanding to a national level; the conference attracted people from all over the country to discuss the issues of hunger and poverty.

In his article on the conference, Patrick writes: “The Beyond Hunger conference provided a masterful venue that juxtaposed the expertise of anti-hunger advocates, government officials, and philanthropists with the expertise of people who experience hunger and poverty firsthand.”

Patrick is also a staff member of Drexel University’s Center for Hunger-Free Communities, an organization that works with communities dealing with hunger issues. The center has a particular emphasis on helping families with malnourished children, and works with Children’s HealthWatch and Philadelphia-area hospitals to provide outreach to families stricken with hunger and poverty.

Link to Patrick’s article on the conference: http://publichealth.drexel.edu/Media/Latest-News/News-Detail/5036/newsid–1108/

Patrick’s Be the Change Profile: http://www.jmu.edu/bethechange/people/wiggins.shtml

Center for Hunger-Free Communities website: http://www.centerforhungerfreecommunities.org/about-us

– by Tyler McAvoy (’12), Be the Change intern

The Class of 2012, part 5

Kent Graham and Scott Dyer

Every day this week, we’re showcasing seniors we’ve met through the Be the Change blog.  As a group they represent the more than 4,000 students who will receive their degrees on Saturday. We asked them about their Madison Experience, how it has changed them and the best and worst parts of graduating from JMU.

“I feel like I have always received the support …”

Scott Dyer of Baltimore, Md., has a huge heart. During his four years at JMU, he’s worked with local Hispanic students as a leader for Young Life, providing friendship and mentoring. It’s not a passing fancy for the brand new Phi Beta Kappa inductee and Spanish major who also will earn minors in secondary education and teaching English as a second language. “My plans after graduation are to send out applications to teach English to adults and to run an after school program in Harrisonburg,” he writes. “Then I plan on applying for graduate school in order to get my master’s in teaching for Spanish and ESL. I also hope to be involved in community development in a big city within a Latino population.”

Scott, who has also worked at a local restaurant throughout college, writes: “JMU has helped me grow into a person who is comfortable starting a conversation with any type of person. This university has always encouraged learning through relationships: faculty to student, and student to student. I have developed a lot of confidence in the person I was made to be, and I feel like I have always received the support of faculty and staff and peers.”

“The best part of graduating is having the opportunity to enter with confidence into my next stage of life. The worst part is no longer being able to be consistently around the same community of people who have loved me so well over the last four years.”

And finally, one student who hasn’t been mentioned by name…

…. but who has been quoted and consulted. Kent Graham, my youngest son and third Duke, will graduate Saturday as part of the first engineering class. More than four years ago, as he was deciding which college to attend, Kent wrestled with his choices. Accepted into all the schools he applied to, he was captivated by the freedom and the excitement of learning at JMU. Here he could find out what he really wanted to do, rather than be forced into one discipline only to discover it was not what he wanted. In the end JMU won, and so did Kent. Recently, I asked him if his was a good decision so many years ago. “Oh, yes,” he said, without a moment’s hesitation. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in engineering, he’ll head to industry as an assistant project manager for a large mechanical contractor to begin his pursuit of a professional engineering license.

For Kent, like Scott, much of the Madison Experience has focused around work and friendships developed through Young Life. He’s spent four years driving back and forth to a local high school, mentoring students. And then, there’s the Toolbox, where he, Scott Dyer and more than a dozen other students have shared their JMU years. The Toolbox is one of the many named houses in Harrisonburg where students live. It is  a dilapidated old house with little heat, a sofa-laden front porch, an eclectic hodgepodge of furniture exceeded only by the variety of wall colors — and a home where lifelong friendships are forged.

I have long told my children that the best friends they’ll ever have, they’ll likely find in college. As you’ve read the thoughts of students this week, that sentiment is affirmed. It is in the relationships that we live and those relationships merged for greater purposes that will change the world.

The college experience should never be exclusively about academic pursuits, prestige or bragging rights. It should be about becoming the best one can become, of finding that place in the world  to make a difference, and of discovering a life pursuit that will challenge, interest and inspire for decades to come. Few universities, including my alma mater, accomplish that better than JMU. It is the right size, the right disposition, the right balance. These 10 students prove that, and as they move out into the “real” world, they’ll carry with them the best of JMU.

Congratulations and many thanks to Abby Burkhardt, Josh Smead, Ben Schulze, Scott Dovel, Matt Burton, Peter Epley, Dave Stevens, Jessie Taylor, Scott Dyer, Kent Graham and to the entire James Madison University Class of 2012.

We can’t wait to hear about all the thousands of ways you will change the world.

 

The Class of 2012, part 4

Dave Stevens

Every day this week, we’re showcasing seniors we’ve met through the Be the Change blog.  As a group they represent the more than 4,000 students who will receive their degrees on Saturday. We asked them about their Madison Experience, how it has changed them and the best and worst parts of graduating from JMU.

“….I often conceded to educational challenges….”

Dave Stevens of Harrisonburg will earn a bachelor’s degree in integrated science and technology with a concentration in energy. After earning his associates degree at a community college, Dave enrolled at JMU — and soared. During his time at JMU, he’s worked very hard, learning everything he could in his courses and “taking ownership of his capstone project” as his major professor told me. Dave traveled twice to Costa Rica for his ISAT capstone project, an energy assessment at Punta Leona resort. He’s also volunteered with Harrisonburg’s Big Brothers/Big Sisters, mentoring a young friend.

He writes: “JMU has provided me the opportunity to personally tailor my undergrad education. The opportunities on this campus are endless. Even when an opportunity didn’t exist here, JMU facilitated me in opening new doors.  Prior to attending this university I often conceded to educational challenges. JMU made me realize that if you put in the effort and accept help when needed, you will be successful.”

Like so many, Dave looks forward to graduation but with reservations. He writes: “The best part is having more free time to do things I couldn’t during the busy semesters. The worst part of graduating is leaving behind the incredible people I met here that helped me along the way. This summer I am working some odd summer jobs to save money in hopes of living out west for a year.  My passion is snowboarding, and I would like to experience the best mountains in this country before I get locked down from nine to five.”

“I guess it’s made me more well-rounded …”

Jessie Taylor

Jessie Taylor of Burke, Va., has breakfasted with monkeys and collected prom dresses, indicative of the rich and varied Madison Experience so typically found at JMU. This spring, she and JMU friends collected more than 600 evening gowns to give away to local high-school girls getting ready for proms. The fashion drive was fun, it was community-minded, and it was environmentally “green.” Jessie also traveled to Costa Rica as part of an international capstone project undertaken by ISAT students. She, Dave Stevens and Ben Schulze conducted an extensive energy assessment of the Punta Leona resort in Costa Rica.

Jessie will graduate Saturday with a bachelor’s degree in integrated science and technology with concentrations in energy and the environment.

Asked how JMU has changed her, she says, “So many ways! I guess it’s made me more well-rounded.” She looks forward to no more tests and homework, “but I’m leaving my college friends and the college lifestyle.”

Jessie’s post graduation goal is simple and succinct: “Hopefully to help change the world!”

And last but not least: Scott Dyer and a friend

(Photos compliments of Dave and Jessie)

The class of 2012, part 3

Every day this week, we’re showcasing seniors we’ve met through the Be the Change blog.  As a group they represent the more than 4,000 students who will receive their degrees on Saturday. We asked them about their Madison Experience, how it has changed them and the best and worst parts of graduating from JMU.

Peter Epley and Matt Burton

“When I came here I was slightly insecure…..” 

Matt Burton of Chesapeake, Va., is a physics major with a math minor and one of the three co-creators of the Lisanby iPad application. He writes: “In my time at JMU I have grown in maturity tremendously. When I came here I was slightly insecure and over the years I have transitioned into leading research projects for the physics department, making the art iPad app, and becoming a leader in my Christian organization on campus.”

As vice president of ministry for the Baptist Collegiate Ministry (BCM), formerly Christian student union (CSU), Matt oversees all small groups and leads the men’s group, social events and intramurals for the organization.

 After graduation, Matt will enter a Ph.D. program in nuclear physics at the College of William and Mary. “The best part of graduating,” he writes, “is beginning my life out in the real world and starting to make my mark in my field, while the worst part is leaving all that has become a home to me and leaving my friends here who have become like a family to me.”

The robotics team (l to r) Joey Lang, McHarg, Peter Epley, Jed Caldwell

“More or less, sleep is what I don’t get …”

Peter Epley, an engineering major from Springfield, Va.,  helped develop the Lisanby iPad app with Matt Burton and Josh Smead.

Peter has also been one of my go-to guys this year as JMU communications has covered JMU’s first graduating class of student engineers. All year, I’ve relied on Peter and many of his fellow engineers to answer questions, pose for photos and answer engineering questions. For two years, Peter and his team have worked to develop and build a firefighting robot. Given that he’s an engineering student and he worked on the iPad app, I was amazed to learn that Peter has also been a member of the Marching Royal Dukes. How does he fit all this into 24 hours?

“I was a member of the MRDs and the JMU Pep Band for all four years here at JMU,” Peter writes. “I am an alto saxophone player and served as a drill instructor my junior and senior years. More or less, sleep is what I don’t get, but honestly, it’s what I do for fun to get away from classes and homework.”

Not surprisingly, the best part of graduating, says Peter, is “I feel like I can finally sleep more than eight hours and not regret it. I can finally take everything that I have learned and use it to make a lasting difference.” The worst part is “leaving a family of some of the most caring and innovative students, friends and faculty I have ever had,” he writes.

“JMU has helped me really see how I can make a difference and what I am capable of doing, even if it is simply on a small scale. Working through the  engineering program has been challenging, especially since we are the first class, but I think it is exciting that my class will serve a crucial role in defining what JMU engineers can do. Beyond engineering, JMU has allowed me to explore different opportunities (such as the iPad app) that I never could have thought up and executed alone. Music has also been an important aspect in my life and JMU was one of the few schools that really gave me the opportunity to still pursue a technical major without having to sacrifice my love of saxophone. For that I am truly thankful, as I have truly met some of the best people I have ever met and am glad to call many of them my friends for the rest of my life.”

During Saturday’s graduation, Peter  will receive a bachelor’s of science in engineering with minors in math and computer information systems. He will join KPMG as an IT attestation associate doing information systems consulting for federal government clients.

Coming tomorrow: Dave Stevens and Jessie Taylor….

(photo of Matt and Peter by Mike Miriello)

The Class of 2012, part 2

Ben Schulze

Every day this week, we’re showcasing seniors we’ve met through the Be the Change blog.  As a group they represent the more than 4,000 students who will receive their degrees on Saturday. We asked them about their Madison Experience, how it has changed them and the best and worst parts of graduating from JMU.

“I have been shaped…..”

Ben Schulze of Catharpin, Va., is an integrated science and technology major and part of a team of ISAT students who traveled to Costa Rica to conduct an extensive energy assessment at Punta Leona resort. He will graduate Saturday with a bachelor’s degree in integrated science and technology and a minor in computer science. Following graduation, Ben hopes to continue his education.

He writes: “JMU has deeply changed my life.  I have been shaped into an open-minded, confident and resilient individual by all of the experiences I have had and the people I have met a JMU.  JMU has presented me with many challenges and many opportunities, and I have used both to my advantage to develop into a strong individual. The best part about graduating is the opportunity to seek new adventures and start the journey of my career. I love to learn, so the worst part about leaving JMU is that I will not be able to have any more classes.”

Scott Dovel

“JMU has awakened me…..”

Scott Dovel of Keezletown, Va., began his JMU career under difficult circumstances that required a brand of strength and determination that few of us are ever called on to muster. But he persevered and looks forward to graduation.

Scott writes: “JMU has awakened me from my small town roots into seeing a greater potential for myself that I would have never conceived otherwise had I not gone to college. Choosing to go to college four years, instead of transferring from a community college, allowed me to experience more. I met a lot of people from different areas in the United States and world with different beliefs and opinions. I gained priceless knowledge throughout college that has helped me begin to shape myself. I am beginning to understand that I know nothing about anything, but I am always learning.”

After graduation Scott says he won’t miss tests. He adds, “I also think getting paid to work rather than paying to do work is great. The worst part of graduating is leaving knowing that there is still so much that I would like to learn.”

Scott will graduate with a degree in kinesiology with a concentration in sport and recreation management and a minor in business. He plans to pursue his interest in recreation management at the Outdoor Learning Center at Horizons, Nelson Rocks Outdoor Center, Camp Horizons, and by supporting Job Corp Adventure Programs, a U.S. Department of Labor program, through Horizons Youth Services

On deck tomorrow…..Matt Burton and Peter Epley

(Photos provided by Ben and Scott)

The Class of 2012, part 1

Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of getting to know a number of current students through the Be the Change blog. Some are now seniors, ready to launch into the next phase of life. Every one of them is interesting, perceptive and enthusiastic about life.

As a run up graduation on Saturday, I asked them to reflect on their Madison Experience, about the best and worst parts of graduating from JMU and about their plans after commencement. Nine responded to my email query. Beginning today, I’ll feature two a day this week. You’ll remember some of their names from prior posts, and you’ll learn some things about them that will surprise you. (Their names are linked to the original post in which they appeared.) All together these seniors represent the best of the Madison Experience, the Class of 2012, and very bright futures.  One senior wrote that her future goals include changing the world.  Given what these students have accomplished  and how they look at the future, they — and their fellow members of the Class of 2012 — probably will. 

Abby Burkhardt and friends in China

“JMU opened my eyes to the world…”

Abby Burkhardt of Branford, Ct., first came to our attention when her hometown newspaper interviewed her after she participated in an Alternative Spring Break. She’s majoring in international affairs, with minors in Chinese business and Asian studies. Not  surprisingly, Abby plans to teach English in China for a year.

For Abby, JMU has been transformative. She writes: “JMU has changed me in numerous way. I had always been a homebody (I didn’t realize it then), but then I came to JMU not knowing anyone. I really loved where I grew up and didn’t realize how much I would miss being away from home. I cried pretty much the entire first semester even though the people here were some of the nicest bunch of people I had met my entire life. I was so far away from home, so I really had to rely on myself and my friends here to help me get through the year.”

“JMU really helped me find my own two feet and enabled me to make my own life decisions and become a more independent person. I joined a sorority, studied abroad in China, did the Washington semester, attended an Alternative Spring Break, and I am volunteering at the refugee resettlement center’s life skills class. JMU opened my eyes to the world,and now I am sad but also prepared and excited to get out into the real world.”

“The best part about graduation is knowing that I have completed all four years here and actually have accomplishments and lifelong friendships to show for it. The worst part by far is leaving the comfort of the JMU bubble and my best friends who, after graduation, are dispersing all over the world. I’m also going to miss the easy-going lifestyle and the mountain views.”

“The best part of graduation is knowing……”

Josh Smead

Josh Smead of Harrisonburg will receive a degree in art and art history with a minor in studio art on Saturday. Josh and  two other students, Matt Burton and Peter Epley, developed an iPad app for JMU’s newest museum. The app, introduced to the world in January, garnered 136 downloads from 15 different countries in the first 36 hours after hitting the Apple app store. It has also stirred up interest from other organizations.

But the iPad app is only one dimension of Josh’s rich Madison Experience. He, like so many other students, found opportunities here that are unheard of at other institutions of higher learning. The biggest opportunity for Josh — which he seized and ran with — was the chance to curate a new and interesting art collection for the university.

As curator of the new Charles Lisanby Collection, he says: “The best part of graduation is knowing I’ll be in the position to immediately apply the skills I’ve developed at JMU in the real world, yet the worst part is knowing I am finishing the most influential and life-changing undertaking of my life. JMU has given me a sense of real-world issues and has granted me the ability to productively apply my experience in a professional field. I plan on continuing my research and work with technology and the arts in the hopes that I will help drive innovation, engagement, and enthusiasm for the museum field.”

Eventually, Josh wants to continue his education. This next year, he’ll be exploring opportunities that the iPad app has created.

Next up: Ben Schulze and Scott Dovel…………

(Photo of Josh Smead by Mike Miriello; Abby Burkhardt, compliments of Abby)

Sneering from the curb

(Image via Wikipedia)

Have you ever pulled into a parking lot, found a space inconveniently far from your destination and fumed as a seemingly healthy individual bounded out of a handicap-tagged car only feet from the door? Have you sneered from the curb: What’s his disability?

Well, I have. And although a common response might be to wonder if the individual is sufficiently disabled to warrant the privilege, the truth is more complicated.

What we often overlook is that not all disabilities are visible or immediately identifiable. That’s one challenge for JMU’s Office of Disability Services, which works to make sure every student with disabilities has a full and rich educational experience.

In talking with disabilities services specialist and Be the Changer Matt Trybus, I’ve learned that not all disabilities are defined by the traditional medical model. Many more are explained by a social model, or as “an interaction between a person and an environment.”

Matt, who is challenged by ADHD, uses himself as an example: “There is no universal sign or logo for disability,” he writes. “There is the iconic image of the person in the wheelchair — but that certainly doesn’t represent me.”

And there is no visual representation of the concept of access to disability services, which is what ODS is all about. But why not? How can a visual symbol or graphic convey it all?

Solving this dilemma has led to an interesting collaboration between ODS and the Institute for Visual Studies. In a seminar course offered this semester, students are exploring how disabilities are conveyed in historical and contemporary contexts. The class, “Representing Disability” (SCOM 490/GRAPH 392) is being taught jointly by the School of Communication Studies’ Melissa Wood Aleman and Bill Thompson from JMU Communications and Marketing. The course explores what it means to create universal designs that will accommodate and depict individuals challenged by disabilities, both seen and unseen.

Working in teams and with persons with disabilities as co-creators, students in the class are creating graphic depictions of disabilities based on the principles of universal design. Students are focusing on four areas of disability: deafness, autism, invisible disabilities and physical mobility. What does it takes to create visual environments that are acccesible to all?

The hope, Thompson says, is “the students can find new ways to represent disabilities that everyone can understand.”

Tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012, an initial exhibition exploring universal design will open in IVS, 208 Roop Hall. Later in the semester, an exhibition produced by the students exploring disabilities will go up.

Such an academic exploration of an issue that touches all of us in one way or another should certainly result in more understanding. It should change minds and make us all more understanding and accepting of others.

And I, for one, will no longer sneer from the curb.

To learn more about IVS, go to http://www.jmu.edu/ivs/index.html  (You can also find IVS on Facebook.)

And to learn more about the Office of Disability Services, visit http://www.jmu.edu/ods/

And read also about the Axis Dance Company which visited campus as the result of  a partnership between the Arts Council of the Valley, JMU’s Office of Disability Services, the Institute for Visual Studies, the Departments of Kinesiology, Occupational Therapy and Health Sciences, and the School of Theater and Dance —  http://www.axisdance.org/ 

Armadillos rule! A blog review of 2011

Blogging for Be the Change is an interesting venture. I could write a post every day of every year and never run out of good stories to tell, interesting angles to pursue, and dedicated people to feature. If anything were ever tailor-made for a blog, Be the Change is it.

Sometimes, though, blogging feels like whispering into the wind. Occassionally, I get a little feedback, but most of the time I rely on WordPress and their built-in stats to let me know if a blog post has hit the mark. I think of WordPress as my teacher, assistant, benevolent ruler and friend. They give me snowfall in the winter, ideas in the spring, and now — to my delight — a summary of the year in blogging, including the fascinating stat that readers from SIX continents have found the Be the Change blog and that posts written more than a year ago are still being read. Pretty cool, huh!

So to wish you a Happy New Year from JMU Be the Change — compliments of the clever folks at WordPress and their able stats monkeys – here is our 2011 report. And proof that armadillos rule!

WordPress Annual Report for JMU’s Be the Change blog

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 22,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 8 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

A moment of Clarence

Dr. John B. Noftsinger 1963-2011

George Bailey got a second chance.  John Noftsinger didn’t need one.

When Dr. John B. Noftsinger, vice provost for research and public service of James Madison University, died unexpectedly in November, the Madison community was left with a gaping wound and a sudden and cataclysmic reminder of the impact one life can have. It was as if we all experienced a Clarence moment, the kind that George Bailey had in the classic Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, when Clarence the angel finally convinces George that his life mattered.

John knew what George had to learn. He understood the tremendous impact that one person can have on the lives of others. He lived it, modeled it and taught it everyday. In a life that was too short, his impact on others, like that of George Bailey, was remarkable. He touched and changed the lives of hundreds — or more accurately thousands when one considers the reverberation of his life’s work through students, staff, faculty, alumni and those whom they in turn will touch.

John’s death left us all with an enormous sense of loss, most profoundly because of the way he lived. He personified what it means to Be the Change. In the weeks since his death, I’ve thought about the lessons he left behind, lessons that we can all emulate. These, one might say, are John’s three lessons in how to Be the Change.

Dream big

Growing up in Roanoke, Va., John must have looked up at Mill Mountain and gazed at the city’s famous star. I am, of course, speculating, but somehow John learned how to dream big.  Many people dream, but John believed dreams were action items. Partnerships became living, breathing change agents to John, not simply legal documents but opportunities to make things happen. He also understood intrinsically that education has an enormous potential for making lives better, for preparing individuals for worthy lives. He was never limited by what should be, but inspired by what might be. This is how change begins, with a dream.

Be relational

People mattered to John. In fact, people were the impetus for everything he did. In the educational setting, he knew that it all came down to the individual. One young alumnus had shared how John called to check on his business venture after the young entrepreneur had left JMU. Those who worked with John at JMU and in Scouting saw him live that belief through rich and dedicated mentoring. Relationships become the bricks and mortar of change and the manifestation of dreams.

Work hard

When one looks at what John Noftsinger accomplished in 48 years, it is impossible not to realize how very hard he worked. He sparked more change, impacted more lives and left a greater legacy than most people blessed by lives twice as long. Perhaps because his own father had died early, John seemed driven, making the most of every day and every opportunity. His hard work paid off, and JMU is one of many beneficiaries. Others include the local community, students, higher education, Boy Scouts…..this list goes on and on and on.

No one will miss John more acutely this Christmas season than his wife Cindy and his family. It will be a tough Christmas, but I hope they all take comfort in the fact that while he lived, John Noftsinger made a huge and lasting difference. He changed the world while he lived, and his legacy, both personal and professional, will go on.

As much as he is missed, there is a consensus that his was a wonderful life. Clarence would be proud.

Read John Noftsinger’s Be the Change profile at http://www.jmu.edu/bethechange/people/noftsinger.shtml