A beautifully decorated live Christmas tree is on display during the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum’s December 12 Open House.
This season, Ferrum College invites the community to enjoy a variety of holiday events on campus and in nearby Rocky Mount.
The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum is offering a Homeschoolers’ “Blue Ridge Holiday” Day Camp on Thursday, December 5, from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Children will make decorations and participate in blacksmithing, caroling, card making, and more. Learn more and register here.
Theatre Arts at Ferrum College will present three performances of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol: December 5 at 7 p.m., and December 7 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The performance will take place in Sale Theatre on campus, 305 State Route 602, in Ferrum. Admission is $5 for non-Ferrum College students and senior citizens, and $10 for adults. Reserve tickets here.
On Friday, December 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the annual Holiday Bazaar will be held in the Panthers Den in lower Franklin Hall, 215 Ferrum Mountain Road, Ferrum. Local vendors will be on site. This event is free to attend and open to the public.
Also on Friday, December 6 at 6:30 p.m., the Ferrum College Chorale will perform at the Franklin County Library in Rocky Mount during the annual “Come Home to a Franklin County Christmas” event. This event is free and open to the public.
On Sunday, December 8, Ferrum College’s Marching Band will participate in the Franklin County Christmas Parade from 3–6 p.m. in downtown Rocky Mount. The parade is free to attend.
The Neverending Story: A Reflection of Jesus’ Teachings and Birth will be presented on Sunday, December 8 at 7 p.m. in the College’s Vaughn Chapel, 40 Wiley Drive, Ferrum. This performance is free and open to the public, and features music from the Ferrum College Chorale, Concert Choir, and the Fresh Wind Gospel Choir.
On Monday, December 9 at 7 p.m., Ferrum College Mountain Winds will offer a fall concert at Sale Theatre, 305 State Route 602, Ferrum. Admission is free and the concert is open to the public.
The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum’s annual “Christmas in the Blue Ridge Open House” will take place on Thursday, December 12, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Institute and Museum, 20 Museum Drive, Ferrum. Enjoy a beautifully decorated live tree, homemade cookies and cider, caroling, and a variety of vendors selling Christmas gifts. The event is free and open to the public.
“Tonight the revolution is happening around us. It is the light of this fire and my horse at the tree. It is the bodies that lie on the field not a mile from this camp. I will tell you what it is.” – Pancho Villa, The Beginning of His Excellent and Eventful Career
Cameron MacKenzie
Adjunct Professor of English Cameron MacKenzie was recently interviewed by Rose Martin of Blue Ridge PBS to talk about his novel which details aspects of Pancho Villa’s life and role in the Mexican Revolution. Published in 2018, The Beginning of His Excellent and Eventful Career “melds myth and legend, memoir and fiction, to create an astounding psychological portrait of Villa,” wrote co-editor of Painted Bride Quarterly Marion Wrenn.
Originally from Richmond, VA, MacKenzie has worked as an adjunct English instructor at Ferrum College for three years. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from James Madison University and his Ph.D. in English from Temple University. His love of literature began with well-known authors such as William Faulkner and later intermingled with the influence of his parents. He noted his mother was an English teacher and his father was a storyteller by nature. After college, MacKenzie kicked off his career in education by teaching English in Japan.
During the interview, which aired on November 12, 2019, MacKenzie explained why he was drawn to write about Villa after reading The Memoirs of Pancho Villa: “Just the voice, so interesting and mysterious at the same time…I need[ed] to figure out who this person [was].”
Was Villa a villain? A cutthroat? Something of a Robin Hood? MacKenzie still isn’t quite sure how to describe the complexities of Villa’s personality that emerged during the chaos of the Mexican Revolution, other than to say that “at some points, the world demands a certain kind of figure. And it’s not necessarily a good figure but it’s what is necessary for what is going to happen.”
Watch MacKenzie’s interview here.
Ferrum College sweethearts Bradley Lael ’16 and Virginia Pannill ’17 met at the College in 2014. As freshmen, both enrolled in the agricultural studies program and slowly got to know each other over the course of about a year. “We met in Garber, room 123,” said Lael. “We really hit it off during the summer of 2015. When we returned to Ferrum in the fall of 2015, we decided to make it official. We started dating in September that year.”
The couple experienced their first trial during the spring semester of 2016. Over Christmas break, while Pannill was visiting Germany, Lael severely broke his foot while cleaning his grandfather’s gutters. He was forced to use a wheelchair for about fourteen weeks. Once Pannill returned home from Germany, she dutifully took care of Lael, getting him to and from class and helping him walk again just before his graduation in May. “She only forgot me once at the top of the auditorium in Garber,” laughed Lael.
During that semester, Pannill’s loyalty and caring nature shone through. “I believe she would’ve played that role for anybody,” Lael said. “All semester long, she was right there by my side.”
The similarities between the couple are obvious. Both are agriculture teachers for Spotsylvania County Public Schools, both love classic country music and singer George Jones, and both plan to be lifelong educators. They are independent, professional, and their love for each other grows stronger each day.
It didn’t take long for Lael to realize he wanted to marry Pannill. “I probably asked her mother at the wrong time,” he said. “She was taking something hot out of the oven.” But the blessing was given and Lael proposed to Pannill at Kings Dominion’s Halloween Haunt.
The couple will tie the knot this Saturday, December 7, 2019, in Ferrum College’s Vaughn Chapel. “Coming back to where we first met, shared laughs and tears, and the continued love and concern from everyone at Ferrum made it an easy choice for a venue,” explained Lael. After the wedding, they will honeymoon in the Caribbean and return home in time to celebrate their first married Christmas with family.
Lael is thankful for the role Ferrum College played in his romance with Pannill. “We never would’ve met if we didn’t choose Ferrum,” he said. “I wouldn’t change a Ferrum experience for anything.”
Ferrum College is making a bold “Ferrum Promise”: beginning in fall 2020, students who transfer from a Virginia community college with an appropriate associate’s degree will be able to graduate within two years of transfer, or they will receive free tuition for the remaining coursework.
“Today, nearly forty percent of students who graduate from a Virginia community college need three or more additional years to finish a bachelor’s degree because their new college will not accept many of their credits. This is not what they expected–it’s frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive,” said Ferrum College President David Johns.
The College already guarantees admission from all 23 community colleges in Virginia. The “Ferrum Promise” is the College’s next step to become even more transfer friendly and applies to all students who are enrolled full-time, enter with an appropriate associate’s degree from a Virginia community college, and meet certain academic requirements.
This promise encompasses many majors offered by Ferrum College, including its signature programs:
“We are excited to offer transfer students a seamless transition to Ferrum College where they will receive individualized course mapping with our faculty,” said Provost Aimé Sposato.
“Ferrum College is student-centered and future-focused, and because of this, we are making a promise to our transfer students that will dramatically impact their future,” said Johns. “We support a vision of making college affordable, accessible, and even a little more predictable, and we promise to make this a reality for students who transfer to Ferrum College.”
Visit here to learn more about the “Ferrum Promise” and transferring to Ferrum College.
On Monday, November 11, 2019, Ferrum College unveiled its new Craddock Veterans Lounge in Stanley Library on campus. The lounge is specifically designated as a space for veterans on campus, and was made possible by Army veteran and Ferrum College alumnus Greg Craddock ’92 and members of the Craddock family.
“It was a pleasure to unveil the Craddock Veterans Lounge today. My hope is that this lounge provides a place of peace for Ferrum’s veterans on campus to study, relax, and spend time together,” said Greg Craddock.
“We are grateful to the Craddock family for their generosity which has made this veterans lounge possible,” said Ferrum College President David Johns. “As we all know, courage, sacrifice, and selflessness are the qualities of a veteran, and we owe a great deal to those who give so much in defense of freedom. The Craddock Veterans Lounge is one way will be able to honor the heroes who are part of our Ferrum College community.”
A veteran of the U.S. Army, Craddock has over 20 years of experience in special operations, intelligence, and security operations. He was among the first boots on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq. He graduated from Ferrum College in 1992 and holds a master’s degree in business administration from Liberty University. Craddock now serves as the chief executive officer of Patriot Group International (PGI), Inc. Under Craddock’s leadership, PGI earned over $10 million in revenue within two years of operation and was named to Inc. Magazine’s “Fast 500” in 2014. In 2017, PGI was selected as the Government Contractor of the Year in the $25-75 million category.
The Craddock Lounge unveiling followed a special Veterans Day ceremony honoring veterans, soldiers, and reservists, held in Vaughn Chapel on campus. Craddock was the keynote speaker.
See photos from the Craddock Veterans Lounge unveiling and special Veterans Day Program here.
Dr. Dave Wiggins
After more than twenty years former Ferrum College counselor Dave Wiggins has returned to campus, this time in the role of the College’s new dean of Student Success.
Originally from Waynesboro, VA, Wiggins relocated to the area to serve as Ferrum College’s counselor from 1996 to 1997. “It was a great opportunity to work with outstanding people who really cared about the students,” Wiggins remembered.
In 1997, Wiggins left Ferrum College to take a job at Lewis-Gale Hospital in the Employee Assistance Program. He also taught psychology at night as an adjunct professor at Jefferson College of Health Sciences and worked part-time counseling children, teens, and adults, specializing in marital and group counseling.
He accepted a full-time counseling position at Jefferson College of Health Sciences in 1998, and eventually moved into the role of associate dean for Student Services. “I really enjoyed the position, especially working with younger students who came from disadvantaged backgrounds or older students who were returning to college to pursue a position in health care as a second career,” said Wiggins. In 2011, Wiggins returned to his private counseling practice where he worked full-time until arriving at Ferrum College again in August 2019.
Wiggins graduated from Emory and Henry College with a Bachelor of Arts in business. He also earned a Master of Education from James Madison University and a specialist degree in education from the University of Virginia. He received his doctorate degree in counseling from Virginia Tech after completing his dissertation, a clinical study involving students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
Wiggins has many layers. He enjoys playing the bass guitar, hiking, restoring old houses, photography, and reading. A favorite companion is Elsa, a German shepherd he rescued about five years ago. “Her hobbies are chasing tennis balls, waking me early in the morning before the sun comes up, being obnoxious, and eating,” said Wiggins.
Now that he’s back at Ferrum College, Wiggins is making plans. “I want to work with administration, faculty, and staff to make a difference for the College community, especially in helping students be successful. I am particularly interested in pursuing opportunities with advising, First and Second Year Experience Programs, and working with athletes,” he explained.
Wiggins is pleased to be on campus again: “The faculty, staff, and administration are very dedicated and caring and provide outstanding services for our students. My door is always open. Please feel free to stop by and visit.”
Ferrum College’s marching band, the Sound of Panther Pride, revealed its new uniforms during the Senior Day football game against the Shenandoah University hornets on November 2, 2019.
“We are beyond thrilled to have these beautiful marching band uniforms from the Stanbury Company,” said Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Bands Sixto Montesinos. “As we were working through the design we aimed to capture the spirit of Ferrum College and I think we did.”
In fall 2018 under Montesino’s leadership, the Ferrum College band program expanded to include the marching band, pep band, and color guard. Since then, the College has also added a Bachelor of Arts degree in music which became available in fall 2019. “We hope these uniforms will encourage future students to join our marching band,” said Montesinos.
The uniforms were made possible through a donation from Clay Campbell, president of Martinsville Speedway and generous supporter of Ferrum College.
See photos of the new band uniforms and from the Senior Day football game on the Ferrum College Flickr album.
Learn more about Ferrum College’s band program here.
Ferrum College alumnus and former professional baseball pitcher Billy Wagner was inducted to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in a weekend celebration over November 1-2, 2019. The ceremony was held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Wagner credits much of his success to Ferrum College: “Going to Ferrum was the greatest thing that ever happened in my life,” Wagner said in an article that appeared in the October 30 edition of The Roanoke Times.
Wagner spent three years at Ferrum College until he was recruited by Houston in the 1993 Major League Baseball draft. His professional career includes stints with the Houston Astros (1995-2003); Philadelphia Phillies (2004-2005); New York Mets (2006-2009); Boston Red Sox (2009); and Atlanta Braves (2010). Wagner now coaches high school baseball at The Miller School in Albemarle County.
“There is absolutely no way somebody that hasn’t been to Ferrum could understand the beauty of Ferrum and what it entails,” Wagner concluded during the interview.
Learn more about Wagner’s athletic achievements here.
Read more about Wagner in this Roanoke Times article.
Ferrum College invites the community to a special 10 a.m. Veterans Day Program to be held on Veterans Day, November 11, 2019, in the College’s Vaughn Chapel, 40 Wiley Drive, Ferrum. The program, which is free and open to the public, will honor veterans and reserve soldiers.
Ferrum College alumnus and U.S. Army veteran Greg Craddock will be the keynote speaker. Craddock has over 20 years of special operations, intelligence, and security operations experience. He was a member of the Ferrum College football team and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1992. He also holds a master’s degree in business administration from Liberty University.
Craddock now serves as chief executive officer of Patriot Group International (PGI), Inc. PGI was founded in 2005 by former special operations and intelligence professionals to offer services to select clients within the intelligence, defense, and private sectors. In 2009, Craddock led a group of private investors to acquire PGI. Under his leadership, PGI earned over $10 million in revenue within two years of operation. In 2014, PGI was named to Inc. Magazine’s “Fast 500” which recognizes the 500 fastest growing privately owned companies in the United States.
During his Army service, Craddock served as a ranger and Special Forces soldier, and was among the first boots on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq. Prior to joining PGI, he served as an Anti-Terrorism Force Protection (ATFP) consultant to the United States government.
Following the Veterans Day Program in Vaughn Chapel, the community is also invited to attend the Craddock Veterans Lounge unveiling in Stanley Library, made possible by the generosity of Greg Craddock and his family. Light refreshments will be served.
Read more about Patriot Group International, Inc. here.
Talum Smith ’20 (center) stands with President David Johns and Head Women’s Wrestling Coach Breonnah Neal at the October 30 Wrestle Like A Girl Gala.
Ferrum College senior and member of the women’s wrestling team Talum Smith was honored Wednesday, October 30, 2019, during the Wrestle Like A Girl Fourth Annual Gala. The gala was held in Washington, D.C. at the National Museum for Women in the Arts.
Out of 427 nominated student wrestlers, Smith was chosen to receive the Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston Courage Award presented by Tiffany and Co. The award was created in 2016 by the Wrestle Like A Girl Foundation to honor Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston, who moved from Iran to the U.S. and became the first woman in America’s history to win a wrestling medal for the U.S. at the 1989 World Championships. The Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston Courage Award honors athletes who have to use immense personal courage to participate or compete in sports, even when participating could put them at great risk.
“I feel deeply humbled and honored to receive this award. It feels amazing to know that I can inspire other people, especially young girls, and be a great role model to them,” said Smith. “I want to thank Wrestle Like A Girl for hosting this event and everything that they are doing to empower and invest in women.”
“Her award is fitting,” explained Ferrum College President David Johns. “Talum is one of the most courageous young women I know, in all aspects of life.”
“She is hardworking, dedicated, and a great leader who always has a smile on her face and produces positive energy,” said Ferrum College head women’s wrestling coach Breonnah Neal. “Talum is well-deserving of this award because of all of the obstacles she has faced.”
A criminal justice major hailing from Washington, D.C., Smith did not initially plan on pursuing higher education due to the expense and having to move away from her siblings. In spite of the odds, she made her way to Ferrum College and began working a full-time job to pay for school.
In her sophomore year at the College, she came out for the women’s wrestling team, showing up at every practice that didn’t interfere with her full-time job. Also in her sophomore year, at age 19, Smith was diagnosed with leukemia.
“I was blindsided by the news,” said then head women’s wrestling coach Jessica Medina. “As she told me this, she had a smile on her face. She didn’t want anyone to pity her or worry.”
Throughout treatment, Smith continued to work and go to class with an oxygen tank in tow. She took summer classes to raise her GPA. She was determined to wrestle for Ferrum College. In fall 2018, Smith received the happy news that the disease was in remission.
In January 2019, with her doctor’s permission, Smith competed in the Tornado Open. “She wrestled her heart out that day, inspiring our entire team,” said Medina. “Because she wanted to compete on her college team, she pushed herself in the classroom to have the opportunity.”
“Talum embodies the spirit of Ferrum College–determined, focused, and courageous,” said Johns, with pride. “She is an inspiration to us all.”
Read more about Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston here, and about the Afsoon Roshanzamir Johnston Courage Award here.
Learn more about Wrestle Like A Girl here.
Learn more about Ferrum College’s women’s wrestling here.
The Blue Ridge Institute and Museum announces the 46th annual Blue Ridge Folklife Festival on Saturday, October 26, 2019 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., rain or shine, at the Institute on Ferrum College’s campus, 20 Museum Drive, Ferrum. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for children (ages 6 – 14), and $5 for senior citizens (55 and over). Children 5 years old and younger are admitted free.
Always the fourth Saturday in October, the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival features authentic regional folk music, craftspeople, draft horse and dog handlers, car builders, tractor restorers, country cooks, moonshine tale tellers and much more! Called “thoroughly authentic” by The New York Times, the festival is coordinated by the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum at Ferrum College and is a major venue on the Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail.
Order advance tickets by calling (540) 365-4412. Visit here to learn more, view a schedule of events and ticket packages, or register a car for the car show.
Learn more about the Blue Ridge Institute and Museum here.
Author, speaker, and domestic violence educator Janine Latus will visit Ferrum College’s campus on Monday, October 28, 2019, at 7 p.m. in the Panthers Den of Franklin Hall. She will present “You Know What’s Really Scary? Relationship Violence.” A reception will follow the presentation. This event is free and open to the public.
Janine Latus had recently left an abusive marriage and was attending a conference when she learned that her youngest sister, Amy, was missing. In April 2002, Amy had taped a note to the inside of her desk drawer. “Today Ron Ball and I are romantically involved,” it read, “but I fear I have placed myself at risk in a variety of ways. Based on his criminal past, writing this out just seems like the smart thing to do. If I am missing or dead this obviously has not protected me…”. Two years later, Amy’s former boyfriend Ron Ball was sentenced for her murder.
These experiences led Latus to launch a campaign against relationship violence, and today she is a widely sought-after teacher, author, and speaker who regularly conducts workshops for clients in the corporate, educational, and military sectors, as well as professional athletics. Her talks have inspired thousands of people to recognize relationship abuse, break free, and heal.
Dr. Lana Whited, professor of English and director of the Boone Honors Program at Ferrum College, describes Latus’s previous visit to the Ferrum campus: “I have seldom heard the undergraduate students on our campus quieter than when Janine Latus was speaking to them. Janine is generous with her time and talents and unwavering in her crusade to spare others what she and her sister Amy endured. Her message resonates long after she has gone.”
Visit Latus’s website to read the first chapter of “If I Am Missing or Dead” or to listen to Latus’s 2017 Tedx talk.
Latus’s appearance at Ferrum College is sponsored by the Office of Student Life, the Boone Honors Program, Stanley Library, and the campus chapter of Help Save the Next Girl.
Event details submitted by Dr. Lana Whited.
