Paramedic Alum Explores Dance Passion

   

  

 

 

Breigh Withem of Murray City has been awarded the Rex and Nancy Smith Maiden Scholarship for the Hocking College 2013-14 academic year.

Withem is enrolled in the Hocking College Nursing program and plans to pursue her bachelor's degree online after graduating from Hocking College.

Rex and Nancy Smith Maiden were long-time residents of Nelsonville, Ohio and avid community supporters.  They operated a family-owned business, Maiden and Jenkins Construction.  Nancy was the first Parade of the Hills Queen in 1950 and the couple supported the annual event for over 50 years. 

The scholarship was established in 2004 by Rex and Nancy's family to honor their memories and commitment to the Nelsonville community.  The scholarship is available to graduates of Athens County high schools and is based upon academic performance and service to the community and others.  Selection for the scholarship is made by the high schools. 

 

 

Hocking College alumna Diana Dick '07 found out devastating news at age 17; she was losing her hearing. For the past 12 years, her hearing loss has been gradual. The experience was very traumatic for Dick, "I knew what it was (like) to hear. I was going to movies with my friends. That's what was important to me. I was devastated," she said.

Six years ago, Dick started to find her place. She earned a nursing degree from Hocking College and began working at Fairfield Medical Center. She then took a job at the Ohio School for the Deaf in Columbus. When she began working with the deaf, she also began running again. Dick ran cross country and track while in high school at New Lexington. After entering and winning a 5K in Lancaster, Dick realized she had a talent.

She was selected as a member of the U.S. Deaf Track Team and began training for the international competition in Sofia, Bulgaria. The 2013 Summer Deaflympics was held in Sofia, and Dick was one of 12 athletes from nine different countries to attend. Although she did not win a medal, she learned from the experience. "I found myself," she said. "There are so many people just like you. They are hard of hearing or deaf and they have a passion for their sport."    

 

 

Holly Starlin and Leigh Ann Sarkis, Hocking College Opticianry program students, have been named winners of a $1,000 grant to attend the 2014 Leadership Conference of the Optician's Association of America (OAA). Starlin and Sarkis were the only two winners from Ohio.

Several hundred submissions and winners were judged mainly by the content of their essay. The conference is held in January in New Orleans.  

 

Hocking alumnus and rocket scientist, Robert Shafer '82, has used Hocking College as a springboard into a career in the Aerospace industry, after his tour of duty.

While at the Denver Airport, Shafer recalled running into another alumni of Hocking College. "No matter where I am in the world, I always run in to someone from Hocking College," Shafer said.
 
Shafer has a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and seven Master Certificates. He was fortunate to find a job at Rockwell International Missile two weeks before he graduated, which turned out to be the start of a promising career.
 
Shafer has worked on projects such as the B2 Stealth Bomber, Gatling guns, Hellfire Laser Missile System and various medical devices.
 
Three countries and five states later, Shafer has returned to Nelsonville with his wife, Nancy. "We could choose to work and live any place in the world. However, there is no place like home." 

Ernest Allberry '78 - Computer Programming

Randy Beinlich '84 - Recreation & Wildlife

Algia Wilson '90 - Accounting & Financial Services

David Brink '02 - Recreation & Wildlife

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hocking College Foundation wishes you and yours a very happy holiday season.  Here's to good health and prosperity in the New Year!

Libby Villavicencio           Jestinah McDonald

Julia Decker of Nelsonville, Jenna Ferguson of Nelsonville, Kayla Gates of Amesville, Emily Main of Nelsonville, Timothy J. McMillen of Nelsonville, Marissa Moliviatis of The Plains, Caitlin Queitzsch of Nelsonville, Danielle Wagasky of Nelsonville, David A. Wright of Athens and Dustin Young of Nelsonville have each been awarded the James E. and Betty J. Blower Memorial Scholarship for the Hocking College 2013-14 academic year.

 

Over the 2013 Veterans Day weekend, students from Susan Fletcher's Research Skills class visited Washington D.C. as a part of the annual Memorial Voices trip. This year's trip marked the fifth year. Students visited various memorial sites and museums around the nation's capitol.

Seventeen students went, and many talked about the impact the trip had on them. The students encountered a number of veterans at the different memorials and said the personal stories they heard were "not something you would ever read in a textbook." One vet shared his experience in Special Forces, working with K9 "super dogs." This story prompted the class to do some additional research to learn more about this Army program.   

At the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, one veteran talked about the lack of respect Vietnam vets received when they returned home. The students also learned that, in addition to the number of soldiers killed in any conflict, a number of veterans lose their life after returning home due to mental health issues, drugs and suicide.

The group visited the Holocaust Museum, which they said was "scary and sad," and included a room filled with shoes recovered from the camps, which reminds viewers to remember the individuals lost. 

Several programs are represented in the class, and the students said before the trip they didn't talk to each other much. While on the trip, the students talked each evening about their experiences. Following the trip, the Research Skills class is working on a project to interview a veteran or currently active service member.

For more photos from the trip, see the Hocking College Flickr page.

 

 

Tom Johnson and Joseph Ogden, both of Perry County, were selected to serve on the Hocking College Board of Trustees by a caucus of school board presidents from Athens, Hocking and Perry counties. 

Johnson and Ogden will complete the unexpired terms of Dr. Larry Rentschler and Darlene Wells, both of Perry County, who resigned from the board before the completion of their terms, which end August 31, 2015. Due to regulations restricting the number of government agency employees who may serve as trustees, Johnson will not be sworn into service until the March Board of Trustees meeting.  

Johnson is the Mayor of the Village of Somerset and retired Vice President from a career in international banking. He is now devoting his time to public service efforts in local civic and economic development, historic preservation and the arts and heritage tourism. Johnson is a graduate of Ohio State University, and has an MBA from Henley Management College in England.

Ogden is President of family-owned Ogden Insurance Agency. He has served on several boards, such as the New Lexington Board of Education and the Lions Club. He also attended Hocking College.

 

Tom Prues '80

Tom is a graduate of Forest Management technology.  He started working for the Hamilton County Park District as a summer seasonal employee while finishing up his last year at Hocking. He stayed with them for 32 years, working his way up from seasonal employee to Park Manager. He was a Park Manager for over 20 years, managing facilities across Hamilton County overseeing daily operations not only of the main facility where his office was located but also several satellite parks and a golf course. In December 2012, Tom retired from the Park District and is now enjoying retirement. 

 

Tom and his wife, Gale, have been married for 25 years. They live in an eastern suburb of Cincinnati and have two sons.  Scott is 22 and in his fourth year at Ohio University studying Engineering Technology and Management and Mark is 19 and is in his first year at Kent State University studying Architecture and Environmental Design.

 

Shirley (Spaulding) Fradette '80

Shirley is a graduate of the Office Management program.  For over eight years, she has excelled in her position at Bruner Corporation, supporting C-level executives with their many initiatives. In addition to her career, she enjoys being a part of women-lead associations such as United Way of Central Ohio Women's Leadership Council (WLC) and the National Association of Women in Construction, where she is a board member.  

 

Shirley also volunteers in many capacities with the Builders Exchange of Central Ohio Ambassador Program, Mid-Ohio Food bank, YWCA, & countless United Way of Central Ohio volunteer events. 

 

Theresa Withrow '85

Theresa is a grad of the Hotel and Restaurant Management program.  She is the Quality Manager with a food manufacturing company in Fort Mill, SC.

 

Denise Barr '01

Denise is a graduate of the Office Management program.  Since graduation, she has worked in many different offices, getting different experiences with each.  She is currently working at B&C Communications in Chillicothe.  Denise has two children, a 10 year old boy and an 8 year old girl.

 

Lynn Wright '05

Lynn graduated from Hocking with dual degrees in Wildlife Management and Fish Management & Aquaculture. He was the outstanding graduate in Fish Management & Aquaculture at graduation. During his time at Hocking, he was part of the "Canada Trip" in the summers of 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2007 where they conducted fisheries surveys and research.  He was also the treasurer of the student chapter of the Wildlife Society from 2003-2004.
 
After Hocking, Lynn enrolled in the 2+2 program with the University of Rio Grande and graduated in 2007 with a B.S. in Fish & Wildlife Conservation & Management. After a few years of seasonal jobs, he attended Arkansas Tech University from 2009-2012 where he graduated with a M.S. in Fisheries Science. During his time at Arkansas Tech, he conducted research on the recruitment and supplemental stocking of crappie (Pomoxis spp.) in Arkansas reservoirs. Additionally, he worked on the EPA National Rivers and Streams Assessment where he was part of a team that sampled streams and rivers across the entire state of Arkansas.
 
Lynn is currently a District Fisheries Biologist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) in northeast Texas, where he conducts fisheries and habitat related surveys and research and manages 12 major reservoirs over 500 acres. He has a job that he loves and feels very blessed to get to do what he enjoys every day.  Lynn states that he has lots of good memories and friends from his time at Hocking and he is very proud to have attended Hocking College. 

 

Adam "AJ" McGlaughlin '08

AJ was in the Human Services and Corrections program.  He received the outstanding graduate award, an honor he really cherishes. Shortly after graduation, AJ became a licensed chemical dependency counselor 2 (LCDC II) in the state of Ohio.  He worked in treatment the whole time that he was a fulltime student.  From there he completed a 2+2 program with Ohio Christian University and became a LCDC III.  He states that his career has done nothing but go forward.  AJ currently works in Columbus, Ohio at Maryhaven.  He is starting a new program there that will provide services to the homeless and the under-privileged.  He is currently working on his Master's degree.  AJ states that, "Everything I have ever needed to know I learned at Hocking College.  It was a great experience being a student and I would love to return and do it again".

 

Angela Morosko '12

Angela is a graduate of the Business Management and Entrepreneurship program. As a part-time student with a full-time job, it took her many years to obtain her degree.  She was enrolled at the Perry Campus, which she believes is a wonderful resource and blessing to the people of Perry County. Angela was 58 when she graduated and she states, "It was a pleasure to interact with younger students with diverse ideas and perspectives. I hope I was able to offer them a different viewpoint as well.  Hocking College helped me fulfill a life-long goal, and helped advance my career. If I can do it, anyone can!"  Angela is currently the HR Manager at Perry County Board of Developmental Disabilities.