Resident campers will stay overnight in the residence halls, and meals will be provided by the university’s Dining Services. Student ambassadors, also known as summer Conference Assistants (CAs), will be on duty to assist campers during their stay.

Stetson Athletic Summer Camps include:

Women’s Basketball:

Lil’ Hatters will learn to dribble, pass, shoot, defend and be a part of a team. Games, races and lots of one-on-one attention will ensure a fun time. High school players are invited to join Coach Lynn Bria, her staff, and Hatter players as they conduct a camp geared toward individual instruction and overall competition. Hatter Shootout, a team event, consists of a fun and intense environment designed to challenge each team to compete as a group, as well as receive instruction. For more information, contact Assistant Basketball Coach Jenna Burkett at (386) 822-8119, jburkett@stetson.edu or online at Women’s Basketball Summer Camps – 2013. Register for Women’s Basketball Summer Camps 2013 online.

• Ages:   2^nd  – 12^th grades (girls only)
• June 6 – 7
• June 21 – 22
• June 22 – 23

• Lil’ Hatters Day Camp
  • Cost:    $100 (includes $50 deposit)
  • Time:   9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Hatter Elite Camp
  • Cost:    Resident – $125 (includes $50 deposit)
  •               Commuter – $100 (includes $50 deposit)
  • Time:   11 a.m.
• Hatter Shootout
• Cost:    $350 (per team)

Men’s Soccer:

The summer soccer camps will focus on beginner and intermediate technical skills including passing, dribbling, shooting and more. For more information about Soccer Summer Camp, contact Assistant Soccer Coach, Tony McManus at (386) 822-7014, amcmanus@stetson.edu or online at Stetson Men’s Soccer Camp, with information about the Youth Academy. Register online for Stetson’s Soccer Youth Academy, or for Stetson College ID Camp.

• Ages:   6 – 14 (open to boys & girls)
• Dates:  June 17 – 20
• Lil’ Hatters
  • Cost: $85
  • Time: 9 a.m. to  noon
• Youth Academy
  • Cost: $120
  • Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• College ID Camp (boys – high school ages only)
  • June 23-26
  • Cost: $505
  • Check-in starts 5 p.m. June 23

Women’s Soccer:

The summer soccer camp will expose players to the standards and styles of coaching, and the expectations of players at Stetson. Campers will center on becoming technically cleaner, playing and keeping possession in tight spaces and more. Coach Khettry will also host a presentation geared to educate players (and family members) on what it takes to be a college soccer player. For more information about Soccer Summer Camp, contact Head Soccer Coach, Manoj Khettry at (386) 822-8139, mkhettry@stetson.edu or online at Women’s Soccer Spring ID Camp.

• Prospect ID Camp
  • Ages: 13 – 19 (girls only)
  • Date: June 16
  • (Limited to 60 Field Players, 8 Goalkeepers)
  • Cost: $125
  • Time: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Residential Camp
  • Ages: 12-18
  • Dates: July 18-21
  • (Limited to 100 Field Players, 12 Goalkeepers)
  • Cost:    Resident – $545
  • Commuter – $500

• Registration begins July 18 at 2 p.m.

Tennis:

The goal of summer tennis camps is for each camper to improve in the fundamentals of the game of tennis, to develop sportsmanship skills and to have fun in a supportive environment. For more information about Tennis Summer Camp, contact Camp Director, Christophe Noblet at (386) 822-8145, cnoblet@stetson.edu or visit Stetson Tennis Camps Summer 2013 online. Register online for Stetson Tennis Summer Camps 2013.

• Ages:   5 – 18 (Coed)
• Dates:  First Session: June 10 – 14
• Second Session: June 17 – 21 (Both sessions will offer two of the following options)
• Lil’ Hatters – “Slower balls, smaller courts, more fun.”
• Cost: $145
• Time:   Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. to noon

• Elite Hatters – “Train like a champion.”
  • Cost: $250
  • Time:   Monday – Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Friday from 9 a.m. to noon

Volleyball:

Stetson Volleyball Camps are designed to give campers the opportunity to experience a NCAA Division-I training environment. This camp will help reach future goals, whether it’s making a high school team or playing at the highest level. For more information about Volleyball Summer Camp, contact Coach Meghan Bryant at (386) 738-6681, mbryant@stetson.edu or visit Stetson Volleyball Summer Camps online. Register for Stetson Volleyball Summer Camps online.

• Ages:   12 – 18 (Coed)
• Dates:  Aug. 1 – Sand Camp
• Aug. 2 – High School All-Skills Clinic (High School Ages Only)
• Aug. 3 – Specialty Clinic
• Aug. 4 – All-Skills Clinic

• Cost: $100 (For each camp and clinic)
• Time:   9 a.m.  – 5 p.m.

Stetson University offers the camps and clinics listed above, but does not limit the selection of those sports solely based upon what is seen. For a complete listing of athletic camps offered by the university, please visit gohatters.com.

NCAA bylaws 13.12.13: Stetson camps/clinics are open to any and all entrants (limited only by number, age, grade level and/or gender).

by Kim Charles

Now in its third year Inspirare, meaning “to breathe and to inspire,” was founded by its director Ann Small, internationally known scholar and conductor, who has taught music at Stetson University’s School of Music since 1983. Small’s articles on music education have been published on many occasions. Her children’s choirs, part of the Stetson Community School of the Arts, have performed across the United States and in Scotland and Canada. They also were featured in a worldwide event sponsored at Disney World by the Music Educators National Conference. Her choirs have sung for regional and national American Choral Directors Association and Music Educators National Conference.

Women singers from across Volusia County, as well as Stetson faculty and staff, have joined together to participate in Inspirare. Auditions were not required. Donations ($10 adults; $8 seniors; $5 students suggested) will be accepted at the door.

Accompanied by Tammy Miller, adjunct music professor, and directed by Small, the concert will also feature soprano Marya Barry, and the narrator will be Monya Winzer Gilbert.

Women’s choirs are ideally suited for music about spiritual and romantic love. The concert will include a work by Canadian composer, Imant Raminsh called “Chariot Children” and a French Canadian folk song.

The finale from Mendelssohn’s incidental music written for Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, will feature Miller, piano, and Barry, soprano. The narration will be read by Gilbert, former violinist, and well-known arts administrator, who was instrumental in bringing the International Festival to Daytona Beach.

To learn more about this group, contact Small at asmall@stetson.edu, or call Stetson’s School of Music at (386) 822-8950.

But what would happen if your life was inhibited because one of them didn’t function to full capacity? What would happen if your one leg needed to be periodically upgraded, similar to computer hardware, as you got older?

Well that’s precisely the challenge Tommy Scheffer of Deltona, Fla. (pictured right) faces each day.

Tommy was born with a disformity which caused his left leg to be shorter, resulting in the amputation of his leg. Tommy has courageously made the very best of a difficult situation. While this challenge may have defeated other children, it, instead, focused Tommy and he decided that he would play the sport he loved – baseball.

Now to many, the thought of playing baseball when you cannot run well seems quite futile. But Tommy did join the local team and has become an excellent hitter. And while he cannot run the bases at top speed, he still enjoys the sport. Yet to accomplish his dream of running the bases similar to other athletes, Tommy would need a new prosthetic leg and foot.

While attending one of Tommy’s baseball games with her son, who wanted to cheer Tommy on, Serena Harrison of Deltona, Fla. became aware of Tommy and his challenges. She took a special interest in Tommy’s needs and after careful consideration and conversations with Tommy’s mother, Mandy, Harrison decided, in the fall of 2011, to develop The Tommy Fund, a non-profit foundation which raised funds specifically to acquire a new leg and foot for Tommy at this time in his life.

As a child grows, a new prosthetic device is necessary and in addition to custom fabrication, fitting and revising.  A new limb can cost tens of thousands of dollars for the device itself and all the necessary medical bills. As a person grows and/or their body changes (weight gain/loss, activity level changes, etc.), they will have to start the process all over again.

From afar, Dr. Michele Skelton, Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Health Science at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla., (pictured, center) marveled at Harrison’s time, effort and personal expense to begin this fund. Harrison and Skelton’s children attended the same school and played in the steel drum band together.

With a passion to raise enough money for Tommy, Harrison held fundraisers around town, for what would be known as The Tommy Fund, including music performed by the members of the children’s steel drum band, called The Panheads, in Artisan Alley in DeLand.

Through further conversations, Dr. Skelton decided to contact one of her former students, Rachel Friddle of Honea Path, S.C. (pictured left, taking measurements for Tommy’s prosthetic leg), who received her 2004 degree in Integrative Health Science at Stetson University. Rachel later completed a certificate post graduate program at Northwestern University’s Medical School of Chicago in Orthotics and Prosthetics in 2005.

Upon graduation, Friddle completed her residencies and worked in a private practice in Nashville, Tenn. for five years. She later joined her family’s business, Friddle Orthopedic Appliances, which was started by her great grandfather at Shriner’s Hospital in Greenville, So. Carolina. Now run by her father, a small part of the company is dedicated to central fabrication, which makes orthotics (braces) and prosthetics (artificial limbs).

“Rachel was amazing.  When I first met her, she was self-motivated, knew what field she wanted to study and quickly espoused Stetson’s desire for students to become advocates and community leaders,” said Dr. Skelton of Friddle’s generosity and leadership in helping Tommy.

Through her contacts in the industry, Friddle reached out to Chris Doerger, PT, CP, and clinical educator for Ossur Manufacturing in Orlando, which donated a foot for Tommy.  And once all the donations were acquired, Friddle, Doerger, Skelton, Harrison and Tommy all converged in Skelton’s office at Stetson University to measure Tommy for his new leg and foot.

With Friddle’s work to design and donate the perfect fabrication for the socket design (the portion of the leg that fits on Tommy around his knee and up his thigh), the help of Doerger with choosing the appropriate running foot, and the team at Hanger, Inc., who help Tommy with continual follow ups and adjustments, Tommy is now testing his new limb to insure its proper fitting.

Since each new socket is custom and intimately designed for each patient, a trial period is needed to see if any sores will build or skin breakdown will occur and, if so, adjustments are needed.

But ultimately, Tommy’s goal of effectively running the bases may not be too far off. While he still has more physical therapy to increase the strength of his hips, he and his family are grateful for the generosity of so many people to make his dream come true.  Tommy believes he will reach home plate in the not-too-distant future.

By Mary M. McCambridge

The Karen Schmitt Roberts Career Development Travel Fund, sponsored by Stetson’s Alumni Association Board of Directors, provides need-based travel scholarships for student interns, with preference given to students with unpaid internships. The scholarships will provide funds for all or part of a student’s travel expenses, or other aspects of an internship the committee deems appropriate, enabling the student to participate in an experience that might not otherwise be possible. Two of this year’s recipients are pictured (left) with Karen Schmitt Roberts ’80, who has helped build the travel fund to what it is today: (l to r) Maxwell Droznin: sophomore, Russian studies, Canary Center at Stanford; and Ryan Rinaldo: junior, communication studies, cities of DeBary and Deltona. Alayna Burton: junior, communications studies, 22squared, was also recognized as a recipient of the 2013 Travel Fund Scholarship.

Bank of America honored Stetson with a grant to support students in their pursuits for on-the-job experiences and completion of their post-secondary education. This year’s recipients are:

Richard Goykin: senior, sport management, Staten Island Yankees

Victoria Guzek: junior, marketing, University Directories

Mark Marcus: junior, accounting, Siemens Energy, Inc.

The final scholarship, funded by the Target Campus Grant, provides financial support for students pursuing internship opportunities that foster learning and development of leadership, mentoring and communication skills. This year’s recipients are:

Jennifer Allenby: junior, vocal performance, Varna International Opera Academy

Katherine Cabral: senior, political science, Washington Semester Internship Program

Lauren Couturier: junior, marketing, Virtual Properties

Matthew Gerken: sophomore, mathematics, Institute on Philanthropy and Voluntary Service

Michael Van Oppen: sophomore, international studies, Homeland Security Policy Institute

In addition to these award winners, two students were selected as recipients for the Becker Professional Educational Scholarship and the Boulevard Tire Center Internship. The Becker Scholarship, awarded to one student, assists in meeting the financial obligations of preparing to pass the CPA exam by covering 50 percent of the enrollment fees for the Becker CPA preparation course. This year’s recipient is Azshea Lambert: senior, accounting.

The Boulevard Tire Center Summer Internship Program offers college students from Volusia County the opportunity to work in a professional setting while learning from an industry-leading corporation in the Volusia County area. This year’s recipient is Amber Frato, pictured at right, with Olivia Stevens with the Boulevard Tire Center. Frato is a sophomore, majoring in accounting.

“Congratulations to all of the recipients,” said Robin Kazmarek, Director of Experiential Learning. ”We wish them all much success as they pursue their summer endeavors!”

by Robin Kazmarek, Director of Experiential Learning

Career Development Office

]]> http://www.stetson.edu/portal/stetson-today/2013/05/2013-internship-travel-fund-recipients/feed/ 0 http://www.stetson.edu/portal/stetson-today/2013/05/dont-focus-on-a-past-you-cant-fix/ http://www.stetson.edu/portal/stetson-today/2013/05/dont-focus-on-a-past-you-cant-fix/#comments Tue, 21 May 2013 05:00:22 +0000 Mary Anne Rogers http://www.stetson.edu/portal/stetson-today/?p=7472 To hear these words from a senior in college who has endured a mostly tumultuous life to this point, is quite telling. To have gained this level of awareness and consciously decided to live her life by this motto, is quite striking for a young woman her age.

Maura Martin, who graduated Stetson University May 11, with a bachelor’s degree in Art, a minor in Art History with a decision to stay another year to acquire a second major in Digital Arts, endured a life with a drug addictive mother and bi-polar father.

Although raised from the age of two primarily by her grandmother when her mother became incapacitated from cocaine, she did move back and forth between her maternal influences at various times in her life when her mother was temporarily well.

During fifth and sixth grade, she began to rebuild a good relationship with her mother, who then remarried, only to see it fall apart when her new stepfather physically abused her mother and reintroduced her to drugs.

Realizing she was considerably depressed, it was during a wonderful vacation to Captiva Island, Fla. with her grandparents that her grandmother decided that Maura needed to live with her again.

An artist from early in life, it was at Stetson University that Maura’s love for art came alive. When deciding the focus of her senior thesis, she struggled with whether to bring out her life experiences in her work.

Once she had studied the art of others and the impetus for their own work, she became more confident that she also could allow herself to express her childhood pain. While the research of combing through hundreds of family pictures over three generations did cause her sorrow at times, she felt it has helped free her of so much of the sting she endured over all these years.

Martin’s work was exhibited at Stetson University’s Hand Art Center to rave reviews. Uniquely using door and picture frames in vintage style, her choice to transpose her picture at age three on top of her mother’s picture at age three, is the centerpiece of her work. Strikingly similar, it can also be somewhat haunting.

On the side of this display is a child’s broken bed with pictures flowing from under the springs to the floor adding a sense of intrigue to the years of history which contributed to this exhibit.

Martin credits her grandmother for her encouragement, love and support. She is also grateful for the influence of her professors at Stetson. She looks forward to a long career in the art world with her next project focused on her father’s illness.

by Mary M. McCambridge

At the last minute, she took a campus visit to Stetson University and immediately knew this was the place she needed and wanted to be…if they would still accept her application. With excellent grades and superior “can-do” attitude, Stetson was more than happy to enroll Sami even at the eleventh hour.

“Choosing Stetson was probably the best decision of my life,” she explained with a smile.

Sami’s ability to create a successful path and her desire to become more significant continued at Stetson. While typically she avoided taking so much as an aspirin for headaches, she came down with a serious sinus infection that required antibiotics her sophomore year. Unfortunately, she was subsequently afflicted with clostridium difficile (better known as “C. diff”) due to the antibiotic killing too much of her “good” bacteria. It resulted in even greater illness.  True to form, she rose above the problem and used the experience for good because, at that moment, it cemented her desire to become a pharmacist.

“I want to help people understand what medications they need to take, and in the proper dosages they should be taking them,” she said. “Also, I believe this career path will allow me a great family-work balance, which is a priority because I grew up in a tight-knit family.”

This past year, Sami’s had tough classes, tutored several hours a week, filled out pharmacy school applications, and embarked on a rigorous senior research project.  She never cared for lab before because it was someone else’s research and it was already known what the outcome was supposed to be. “But once I started doing my own (research), it became very exciting for me and now I know that is an area of Pharmacology on which I’d like to concentrate,” explained Sami. “I’ve built up a lot of confidence at Stetson. The professors push us to do more, to go beyond minimum requirements. That’s what prepares students and makes Stetson unique.”

Of course, as no surprise, Sami selected UF as the place to earn her Doctorate in Pharmacy degree.  Even though she will be amongst all that is blue and orange this fall, this is one “Gator” who will always be “Hatter” green.

by Trish Wieland

Only two of 682 graduates this year chose that difficult and rewarding path.

The double distinction marks the single-minded dedication of Caitlyn Amelia Edwards and Ronald Ethan Wagnon. Gold bars were pinned to their uniforms in a May 10 commissioning ceremony; their degrees were awarded May 11.

Combat tactics, marksmanship, drills and exhausting field exercises were mixed with traditional classroom subjects for the ROTC cadets. The dual life of student and cadet is extremely difficult and extraordinarily demanding, they said.

“No one really understands what we have to do,” said Wagnon, an American studies major from Inverness, Fla. “I had a full day of work before the average student woke up. I rarely had time for anything other than ROTC and school these past four years.”

“It’s such a huge commitment of time. Not many people realize that,” said Edwards, an environmental science major from Chuluota, Fla. “We have to be willing to give up weekends, be up at 0500 every morning, and ready to go at a moment’s notice. We essentially have a fulltime job while keeping up with schoolwork. We’re always tired.”

The double life set them apart, they said, and drove them to be more and do more than what’s expected of other students. Cadets learn to wring every productive moment from every hour of the day.

“We’re already in the professional stage of our lives when most student are still learning how to wake up and go to class,” said Wagnon.

The student/cadets are following different military objectives.

Edwards, who played varsity volleyball, is going into the Army Reserves. After officer training and Corps of Engineers training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., she’ll return and seek a civilian job in engineering and environment. She’ll train one weekend a month and two weeks every summer.

Wagnon, who tutored underprivileged children, is headed for active duty as an airborne infantry officer. He’ll train in officer leadership at Georgia’s Fort Benning and attend Ranger School before Signal Corps deployment. His goal is to lead soldiers in combat. Long term, he’s interested in military chaplaincy or computer technology.

Raised on a Georgia ranch of cattle and horses, Wagnon’s early childhood included rodeos and farm chores. His drive and discipline, he said, comes primarily from his widowed entrepreneurial mother.

“She was the only parent I knew. Her constant hard work and self-sacrifice will always be an example I strive for,” said Wagnon. “My family and friends don’t accept anything less than perfection.”

Born on a Georgia military base into a military family, Edwards has lived and traveled in many countries. Her ROTC choice meant following family tradition and a lifestyle she knows. Her father’s career was army aviation; her brother is an army engineer and her sister is in the Military Intelligence Corps.

“My family had a huge impact on the person I am today,” she said. “Watching my brother, sister, dad and other family members in the military has really prepared me for the outside world. I’ve seen their experiences first-hand and with their help and advice, I know I’ll be able to handle anything. I want to be a good leader.”

Her leadership abilities, self-confidence and time management skills are far stronger because of her Stetson experience, she said. “And I’m a happier person, too.”

Upper level ROTC courses are taught at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. The commute ate away at precious academic time.

“Caitlyn had to juggle classes between Daytona Beach and DeLand every semester. The rigorous schedule demanded a great deal of creative curricular management, but she managed a fine course of study,” said J. Anthony Abbott, Ph.D., geography and environmental science chair.

“Ethan always had insightful comments to make in class and did a great job pulling together knowledge from different courses in a truly interdisciplinary way,” said Emily Mieras, Ph.D., associate professor of history and American studies.

“I’ve learned a surprisingly simple lesson during the last four years,” said Wagnon. “I’ve learned to accept help. There’s been a lot of good people in my four years here who helped pave my success.”

Success for Edwards and Wagnon came when they received their diploma and 2^nd lieutenant’s bars amid pomp and ceremony marking the end of undergraduate studies.

“Stetson has been a great experience,” said Edwards. It has been hard and trying at times, but I just kept telling myself it would all be worth it in the end to pin on my gold bars, and then to walk across that stage to graduate. I’m proud to be one of the less than one percent who serve this country and to follow in my family’s footsteps.”

“I’ve waited for this moment since I was 12,” said Wagnon. “I am stoked to get these bars, but I’m also focused on what’s next, looking forward to my blue infantry cord, and my first platoon. These bars mean a lot, but they’re only the beginning.”

That’s true for both of Stetson’s student-cadet graduates.

By Ronald Williamson

Top Stories

• Andy Dehnart, visiting assistant professor of journalism, appeared on the “Katie” show on NBC, on May 16. He was commenting on the ethical responsibilities of reality television and the future of the genre. In addition, he contributed an article to katiecouric.com which links to the video of his TEDx Talk at Stetson.
• Law Professor Jason Bent spoke with the May 13 CNBC for the story, “Wal-Mart v. the Feds: Who’s the Low-Wage Job King?” The story ran in national outlets including USA Today, Yahoo!Finance and NBC Sports.
• Law Professor Mark Bauer spoke with Food Nation Radio about the Limited Poultry and Egg Farm Operation Rule and the impact on small farms. The story ran May 11 and 12.
• When John Bledsoe threw out the first pitch at a Stetson baseball game last week, the video went viral showing up on TV stations  and other media outlets throughout the country including: MSN.com, Mashable.com, WESH, WFLX, KGNS, KNSD, WISN, WDIV, Florida Higher Education Spectator,
• Wendy Libby was featured in a May 11 article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

Other Stories in the News

• Stetson’s commencement ceremony was featured in a May 11 article in the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Additional coverage: Florida Higher Education Spectator.
• Stetson was mentioned in an article in Emerald Coast Magazine in reference to a book by the late John E. Johns who was a professor at Stetson.
• A May 9 article in the Daytona Beach News-Journal mentioned Stetson in relation to changes being made to Earl Brown Park and Spec Martin Stadium.
• Stetson was mentioned in a May 10, Hometown News article about a high school student who is putting together a benefit concert for an arts program. The student, Ashley King, plans to attend Stetson.
• Law Professor Ciara Torres-Spelliscy’s opinion article on the SEC has run in the May 12 Tampa Bay Times.
• Law Professor Peter Lake is quoted in the May 15 Richmond Times-Dispatch article, “Steger stepping down after 14 years as Tech’s president.”
• The Daytona Beach News-Journal published an article May 10 on Maura Martin, a 2013 graduate of Stetson, for her artwork.
• Stetson was mentioned in a blog post featuring an audio interview with John Jett, adjunct professor of environmental science. The audio is from an interview with WMFE radio.
• Stetson was mentioned in a May 14 article in Arizona Jewish Post about a luxury dorm being built on UCF’s campus. Funding for the dorm came in part from a philanthropist whose son attended Stetson before his death. Additional coverage: Jewish Week Online, Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
• Stetson was mentioned in a May 16 Daytona Beach News-Journal article about the 69^th DeLand Kiwanis Junior Olympics. According to a Kiwanis member the Junior Olympics was started by a Stetson student who needed a class project.
• The May 16 Tampa Bay Times carried news of the death of Law student Kimberly Clark.
• The May 16 JD Journal points to the 3+3 USF/Stetson program as a cost-saving strategy for students.
• The May 10 Tampa Bay Business Journal featured a story about Stetson’s February bar passage results.
• The May 9 Gabber featured a story about Stetson’s bicycle rally with Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson.
• The May 13 JITNews tweeted news of Stetson’s LL.M. degrees. The May 10 TMCNet also shared the news, which ran over the wire in a previous story.

Alumni in the News

• Terry Rooney is now a pitching coach and recruiter for Notre Dame according to their website.
• James Whitmire is returning to Memphis to teach at Mid-America Seminary according to Florida Baptist Witness.

Keep up with what’s happening at Stetson University campuses through Stetson Today. Additional news coverage can be found at: DeLand campus In the News and Law Faculty in the News.

Links to recent news releases from the Law and DeLand campuses can be found here: DeLand campus news releases and College of Law news releases.

Rodney brings more than 20 years of experience in higher education to his job at Stetson. At Bradley, he started as a regional admissions representative and coordinator of the Chicago regional office. He was then promoted as a member of the enrollment management executive committee and assisted in developing and implementing the annual strategic recruitment plan and provided leadership for the Office of Admission. Recently Rodney has been instrumental in helping Bradley University increase diversity in the freshman class and in securing the school’s record application numbers this year.

Rodney has served on the Illinois Association of College Admission Counselors government relations committee, chair of the north central district, and the mentors and mentee program. He has presented widely at annual conferences of The College Board, ACT, National Research Center for College & University Admissions and the Illinois Association of College Admission Counselors.

“Rodney is very well-liked and respected by the high school guidance counselors in the Chicago region and Midwest and is a real ‘take charge’ kind of guy,” said Stetson Vice President for Enrollment Management Joel Bauman. “He is a great mentor to his staff, a wonderful dad, and is recognized as having a tremendous skill-set. He is just the right professional at just the right time, as the enrollment area and Stetson University step boldly into the future of significance.”

Rodney graduated from Bradley University with a bachelor of science in electrical engineering technology, with a minor in business administration. He and his wife Nicole have two school-age daughters. He will officially begin in his new role at Stetson University on Monday, May 20.

U. S. War Veteran Graduates SU at Celebration

When you first meet this gracious man, there are absolutely no signs that Eric Davidson has experienced such trauma in his short life. He is strong, vibrant and cheerful. But as he tells his story, you cannot help but feel such admiration for a man who has endured so much pain and turmoil over the past 10 years.

Raised in a military family, his father a Naval veteran and brother a Marine, he lived in many cities in the United States. A new recruit who entered the U.S. Army in 1995, still in his late teens, he did his basic training in South Carolina and then his specialist training in Virginia.

His first assignment was to the DMZ in Korea completing his initial three year enlistment. While there he also sang for the U.S. Army band traveling throughout that country to entertain other soldiers. Upon completion, he came home to St. Cloud, Fla., continued his career in the United States Army Reserves and started a landscaping business.

In early 2001, he felt the need to reinlist, first as a Specialist but then quickly became a Sergeant. Dispatched to Kuwait in 2002, and as a member of the 3^rd Infantry Division, he found himself among the first soldiers to enter Iraq at the start of the war, driving a tank on the “21 day March to Baghdad” to capture that city. He was present when the infamous statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled down.

“It was full-on war,” Davidson explains about the sustained two-week attack from the Republican Guard. The most organized part of their army, the guard was Saddam Hussein’s elite forces which specifically protected the capital city of Baghdad and the Iraqi leaders.

He described the intricate mathematical calculations he and his fellow soldiers performed to ascertain the exact coordinates and location of the rockets that were coming against them. Once measured, our troops would counter attack with MLRS artillery rockets within a two- to three-minute timeframe firing back in those exact positions and, consequently, would stop further attacks from those locations. Eventually, all the attacks stopped since the ‘guard’, Saddam’s biggest asset, had been killed. “It was quite an accomplishment,” he recalled. And it was the leadership skills he gained during this time that would sustain him later through his future injury.

It was during the high speed convoy of trucks that another truck slammed into his leaving the brake system impaired. The army mechanics tried to fix them in a very small timeframe and when they were unsuccessful, Davidson’s commander made the decision to leave him and his fellow soldier behind in the desert. But his resourcefulness rose within him and within a day he had fixed the brakes with only a hammer and duct tape. It then took another full day for them to catch up with their unit with no radio or gps.

During the continued drive to Baghdad, a rocket hit the back of his truck sending a concussive wave through causing a major brain injury. For the next two weeks he suffered 105 degree fevers within the already 130 degree outside temperature of the desert while still wearing his heavy helmet and gear. Yet he had to continue driving on with this unit.

In another instance, a 500 lb. bomb was dropped on his unit sending an additional concussive wave while also killing and maiming several of his fellow soldiers. And while, at the time, he only felt slightly disabled, seizures and migraine headaches began to take their effect on him. He believes the stress put upon his body at that time, including extensive sleep deprivation, contributed greatly to the extent of his head injury and later when MRI’s and EEG’s were taken it was confirmed he had a seizure disorder which continued three to five times each week for four years. It was at that point he needed to rest, work toward getting the proper medication balance and he was consequently retired.

During his 30-day stays at Walter Reed Medical Center, he was put on five medications, told he may need brain surgery, should have seizures for the remainder of his life and would never have children. Yet with sheer faith and determination, he has defied these odds.

Davidson made a clear decision that he would attend college, get his degree, become well, release all his medications, meet a wonderful woman who would become his wife and raise a family. And while it took nearly 10 years, he has accomplished all this and more.

He entered Stetson University’s Celebration campus to study business knowing he would complete his degree regardless of the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) which caused depression, poor speech and a limited ability to put sentences together.

“Stetson was the icing on the cake,” he enthusiastically explained. He feels Celebration’s campus was the perfect environment to be around fellow business students who were already out working in the world which helped shape and pull him out of his ‘shell’ or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Yet several times he would actually have seizures in class whereby he would black-out, and his eyes would stare straight ahead for up to an hour. He credits his professors at Stetson for their concern and support of him while he was dealing with these somewhat embarrassing aspects of his illness.

While in social entrepreneurship class at SU, his fellow students helped him evaluate the business plans for a new non-profit which he hopes will assist soldiers and their families after returning from war. “The only support vets receive is either financial or a simple pamphlet. There is no real ‘hands-on’ support to get through the emotional side of this,” he explains. That is his focus.

And while studying for his degree he additionally took the unprecedented step of intentionally withdrawing from all his medication over a one year timeframe, with the thought that once free of them, he would be well. And that is exactly what occurred. His body started to heal itself and he now feels better than he has in almost a decade.

Although Davidson has been challenged by his own severe TBI, his depression, fear and the additional emotional effects it has had on his wife and two young sons, he is a man with a mission to build an organization which will teach and support those who have had similar experiences. There is no doubt his faith, devotion to his fellow soldiers and his perseverance will help this man reach the pinnacle of life.

By Mary M. McCambridge