Ferrum College alumna and former Boone Honors Program member Suzie Maines ’21 double majored in Spanish and International Studies. A native of Winchester, Virginia, Maines currently works in Madrid, Spain, through the North American Language And Culture Program (NALCAP). Since January 2022, Maines has taught English to public high school students in Madrid and helped them with their language skills.
During her time at Ferrum College and with the support of a Boone Honors Program travel scholarship, Maines studied abroad in both Seville, Spain in summer 2019 and in Havana, Cuba for the fall semester. For Maines, both of the experiences were life-changing and some of the best times she experienced while in college. Maines said that in addition to helping her language skills, studying abroad taught her a lot in general and she loved every second of it.
Lana Whited, professor of English and director of the Boone Honors Program, remembers Maines’ time at Ferrum College fondly. “I would say that the most interesting thing about Suzie is that she possesses a very quiet, introverted demeanor but is one of the most adventurous people I have ever met. She is also a talented photographer and contributed a Chrysalis cover photo a few years ago,” said Whited.
Sandra Via, former dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies and associate professor of Political Science, recognized Maines’ love of other cultures and travel the moment she stepped into the classroom. “Suzie is such an inspiration to me and others. Her thirst for learning about other cultures and her drive to pursue that passion through her travels and career reflect what Ferrum is all about. She truly entered with promise and is now pursuing her purpose.”
Maines loves both her job and Madrid. “The culture, food, and social life here are simply amazing. Maybe not the summer, but that’s because Madrid’s heat is especially unbearable. I’ve renewed my contract with the Ministry of Education and I’ll be doing the same program again at the same school for the 2022-2023 school year,” she said.
Maines reflected on how the Boone Honors Program impacted her life, the extra opportunities the program added to her educational experience at Ferrum College, and how honors education benefited her upon graduation and beyond. “The Boone Honors Program gave me the opportunity to make friends and [meet] professors who inspired me to make the most of my time at Ferrum. I still keep up with my friends from my very first HON-100 class and I cherish the time we spent together,” said Maines.
“Now that I’ve graduated from Ferrum, I continue to seek out new opportunities abroad. Currently I am living in Madrid, Spain teaching English as a language assistant at a high school called I.E.S. Las Veredillas in Torrejón de Ardoz. This wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the experiences I had in Ferrum and in the Boone Honors Program,” concluded Maines.
The Boone Honors Program was established in 2001 under the direction of Professor Emeritus of Religion David Howell and is named in honor of former Ferrum College President Jerry Boone and his wife, Shirley. Currently under the direction of Professor of English Lana Whited, it is an interdisciplinary, liberal arts program committed to challenging students enrolled in the program, and the campus culture as a whole, to strive for excellence. Students in the program have the opportunity to study language through the intermediate level, take small multidisciplinary seminars for some of their general education requirements, work closely with professors in courses within their major or minor, present research at undergraduate research conferences, attend special dinners with visiting campus guests and speakers, and participate in special Honors social activities and trips. Besides the academic opportunities, benefits include friendships with faculty and other students from across the college who may share similar interests and passions, chances to examine and clarify values and ideals, having stimulating and broadening cultural experiences, and getting a head start on preparing for graduate school or one’s career. In addition, every student in the program is eligible to receive up to $3,000 in travel scholarship for a study abroad experience.
On July 11, 2022, Ferrum College alumna Tracy Holley ’96 will transition from her current role as director of Alumni and Family Programs to become the inaugural director of the First-Year Experience and First@Ferrum Programs in the Carter Center for Academic Success (CCAS). In her new role, Tracy will work with Dean of Academic Success Dave Wiggins, CCAS team members, faculty, and staff to create and provide programming for all first-year and first-generation college students to promote retention and success.
Holley’s new position is supported in part by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, which recently awarded Ferrum College a $143,000 grant to support the CCAS in expanding and initiating academic support programs. This grant will help bolster Ferrum College’s efforts to ensure equity in student outcomes and increase the academic performance, persistence, and graduation of first-generation students, low income students, and students with disabilities who demonstrate an academic need for support.
Holley is uniquely qualified to step into this role, and she is excited to begin a new chapter in her career at Ferrum College. “For over twenty years, I have had the pleasure of working with successful Ferrum College graduates once they leave our campus as alumni. In my new role, I look forward to supporting our first-year and first-generation students by personally working with them face-to-face on a daily basis. I will now have the opportunity to support future generations of graduates by creating programs for success and retention,” said Holley.
Holley’s new office will be located in the Michael T. Christian ’63 Center for First-Year Experience, made possible by a generous contribution from alumnus Michael Christian, and located in Stanley Library. Part of the CCAS, the Michael T. Christian ’63 Center serves all incoming freshmen, including those who are the first in their families to attend college. Its goal is to integrate first-year students into college life by connecting them to an academic and social network of professors, mentors, and classmates, as well as to other resources at Ferrum College such as clubs, campus engagement, and career services, to help them have a successful college experience.
Wiggins looks forward to welcoming Holley to his team. “Tracy’s work will be instrumental in helping our students to be successful at Ferrum and beyond. She brings a vast array of experience to this important position and will provide outstanding services to our students. We are fortunate to have her,” said Wiggins.
Casey Raggett ’22 is the first Ferrum College graduate to sit for and pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX). The NCLEX, developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, tests the competency of nursing school graduates in the U.S. and Canada.
Raggett is part of the College’s inaugural graduating class of nursing students in the pre-licensure BSN program, which prepares students to sit for the NCLEX.
To learn more about the nursing programs offered at Ferrum College, click here.
Leya and her four-year-old son, nicknamed “Little Kendall.”
Leya Deickman does all the things.
A senior from Fayetteville, NC, set to graduate on May 11, 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Leya has truly taken advantage of every available Ferrum College opportunity. She is a residence hall advisor and serves as president of the College’s campus chapter of Help Save the Next Girl, an organization dedicated to the safety of girls and women. She is an intercollegiate wrestler, serving as captain from fall 2016 to present, and has been named Academic All-Conference, Academic All-State, and Academic All-American. She is involved with the College’s orientation team and the Sister 4 Sister mentoring program for African-American students, and served as a Gatway mentor and a PAL tutor for two years. Leya is a Boone Honors Program mentor, a cohort representative to the Honors Advisory Council, and was nominated for the 2019 Honors Scholar of the Year through the Virginia Collegiate Honors Council. She has consistently maintained a 4.0 GPA.
As if those activities weren’t enough to keep her busy, she also stepped in to serve as an editor for Ferrum College’s magazine, Chrysalis Literary & Arts, which won her the Chrysalis Staff Member of the Year Award during the College’s recent Academic Awards Ceremony on April 12. Leya was named to the National Society of Leadership and Success, Psi Chi, and Sigma Tau Delta. She received the Unsung Hero Award during her second year at Ferrum College, which is given to a person who works tirelessly but unselfishly, without the motive of drawing attention to oneself. Without question, Leya exhibits the College’s motto: Not Self, But Others.
Leya’s long-term goal is to be an educational psychologist, but she is currently considering additional higher education. “I want to be involved in the lives of young adults,” Leya explained. “This is a delicate time where we are in between teenagers and adulthood and people expect young adults to have everything figured out. I really want to be able to model that anyone can achieve their goals despite adversities. I want to guide them through this journey and provide them with the resources necessary to make their goals come true.”
“Leya’s academic success at Ferrum and the impression she has left upon the faculty are uniformly outstanding,” remarked Professor of English and Director of the Boone Honors Program Lana Whited, who nominated Leya for the 2019 VCHC award. “It is no exaggeration to say that her faculty cannot figure out when Leya Deickman sleeps, or how she maintains her characteristic cheery, upbeat disposition. She is a remarkable young woman.”
She “has a level of maturity and ability to manage any number of activities that I’ve seen in very few students – maybe only three or four – in 35 years of teaching,” explained Katherine Grimes, associate professor of English, who taught Leya three English courses and an honors seminar.
But her most important accomplishment makes all the rest pale in comparison. Despite her rigorous schedule, Leya is the dedicated mother to little Kendall, a happy, remarkably adorable four-year-old boy. She and Kendall’s father, nicknamed Big Kendall, are both students at Ferrum College and are steadfast in their commitment to family and education. Despite their youth, they show up for each other in big ways: Big Kendall held off on his education for a year to watch Little Kendall while Leya began her studies at Ferrum, and Leya has been diligent in her goal to graduate. She will complete her undergraduate work in only three years, as opposed to the traditional four. Big Kendall is on track to graduate in 2021 with a degree in health and human performance and coaching.
Big Kendall attributes the family’s success to their commitment to each other: “All three of us feed off of each other. Believe it or not, our four-year-old will try to motivate us in the best way he can! We are a team,” and to their network of Ferrum College friends: “People offer to watch Little Kendall while we write a paper or do a project. The College is great, but the people make it even greater.”
Leya agrees and is adamant Ferrum College gave her the tools to be successful. “When I found Ferrum, I instantly found a second home. From day one, I felt like I belonged here,” Leya explained. “Through thought provoking conversations, individualized classroom settings, and countless hours of community service, Ferrum has prepared me to help others. If I can give people half of what Ferrum has given to me, I know I can help make the world a better place. I am not only excited, but honored to be an alumna of such an inspirational institution.”
