Quicknotes | july 2024

A new home away from home on the north side of the university’s campus is in the works. Southern Mountain Cottages will provide another on-campus housing option for students and expand the living spaces available in response to enrollment’s climbing numbers. 

“Southern is blessed to be experiencing unprecedented levels of growth,” says Lisa Hall, ’87, dean of students and director of residence life. “We want to do everything we can to provide a quality Adventist education and welcoming campus environment for all the students who desire to attend our university. Southern Mountain Cottages are a great option for our more independent upperclassmen who still want to be on campus.” 

Even in the initial stages of the project, interest from students was overwhelming. “We talked with several hundred, and every one of them wanted a spot in the new development,” says Justin Moore, ’06, associate vice president for business operations.

Carlos Torres, senior public relations major, recently toured one of the units. “The cottages are beautiful!” he says. “They’re a mix of rustic and modern, which I think is really cool. It’s an open area with very modern aspects to it, and you’ll feel like you’re close to nature.”

Currently, 26 cottages are planned for the project—each accommodating four students—with approximately half on track to be finished in time for the Fall 2024 semester. Each is high quality, featuring all the finishing touches that would be found in a high-end home. 

Marty Hamilton, associate vice president for facilities, feels that not only will the cottages themselves be beautiful but also the setting. The surrounding landscaping will embrace the area’s natural mountain beauty with attractive lighting, pathways, and only limited amounts of concrete. 

“We are nestling the cottages up in the woods and including things like blueberry bushes and flowers to further add to the natural feel of the development,” Hamilton says.

Located on the northeast edge of White Oak Mountain off Colcord Drive, each 600-square-foot cottage will include loft-style beds with study areas, a bathroom, a kitchen, a living area, and laundry facilities. Within an easily walkable distance to classes and activities, the community has a paved, gated road for loading and unloading and parking available along Colcord Drive.

Students living there will have an increased level of independence, so the cottages will be available to upperclassmen who meet the eligibility requirements based on age, completed credit hours, student citizenship, and chapel attendance. Resident assistants and deans will be assigned to oversee the cottages.

Hamilton shares that the cottages are modern and eco-friendly modular homes, which are built using the same high-quality standards as traditional homes, but they can be constructed off-site and then moved to a final location. Different from a tiny house or mobile home, the cottages are not on wheels or a metal frame so will be transported to Southern by truck and then placed onto permanent foundations with a crane. All units are being constructed by Wind River Built just up the road in Cleveland, Tennessee, using traditional dimensional lumber construction.

“It’s important to realize what we are creating here on campus. Southern is doing something that is so innovative and out of the box that we have been approached by other universities interested in doing similar developments,” says Moore.

While enrollment projections for Southern remain positive, the cottages could potentially be used alternatively as guest lodging. Additional Southern Village student apartments on the south side of campus are also under construction to provide even more student housing, with the first new building also on track for completion before the upcoming semester begins.

-Staff Report

After 28 hours of travel and five flights, Southern students on a recent Vision Trip arrived in Rurrenabaque, Bolivia, to volunteer at Familia Feliz, an orphanage that cares for 75 children.

Coordinated through Christian Service within the Office of Ministry and Missions, this was one of the university’s short-term mission trips scheduled during the spring and summer breaks to provide opportunities for students to learn from and serve communities around the world. While there were hurdles to overcome, students found that the connections they made were more valuable than the inconveniences they faced.

Twenty-two students helped at the orphanage with maintenance projects, provided dental cleanings and medical screenings, cared for the children, and joined long-term student missionaries (SMs) in teaching classes. Additionally, the volunteers led church services on both weekends during the trip. Alexis Dewey, senior mass communication major, preached the first Sabbath, and Joey Cirigliano, sophomore finance major, preached the second Sabbath.

The group also conducted a Vacation Bible School Monday through Friday, which included song service, student-led skits, crafts, and games. The orphans range in age from three months to 18 years.

“Sabbaths were unanimously our favorite day, because we were able to spend more time with the kids,” Dewey says. “The children called each of us ‘teacher’ and wanted to be friends right away. Despite their challenging backgrounds, they were quick to trust us.”

Dewey shares that she connected with the friendly children who joined her early each morning while she read her Bible and wrote in her journal. Even though she didn’t speak much Spanish and longed to have deeper conversations, they were still able to communicate with short phrases and smiles. “Seeing the kids smile made it all worth it,” she says.

For Giancarlo Leonor, junior allied health major, this wasn’t his first visit to Familia Feliz. He spent nine months there in 2023 as an SM from Southern and was excited for the opportunity to return, mostly because he wanted to see the children again.

Leonor shares that the children at the orphanage see a lot of people come and go. “What I have found is that just being a part of a ‘love-starved’ person’s life and being a vessel for God’s love to reach them is potentially the most valuable role you can play.

“What’s always the most memorable to me is the connections you make,” he says. “I’m blessed to know enough Spanish to communicate more than most, but seeing how other students bonded with these kids—the smiles, hugs, and laughs they generated—convinces me that language is but a small barrier to making a difference.”

-by Alexis Dewey, senior mass communication major

A team of finance students from Southern’s School of Business participated in the Greater Tennessee Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Research Challenge this school year. Despite this being only the second year for Southern to compete in the challenge, the team placed second among the 10 participating colleges and universities, increasing its position from third place last year. 

In the annual research challenge, students assume the role of financial analysts, evaluating a company and advising a panel of judges on whether to buy, sell, or hold stock in the company. The competition tests students’ analytical, valuation, report-writing, and presentation skills.

For this year’s local-level competition, the schools researched and reported on Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. Southern’s team, comprised of four students, logged more than 300 hours of work conducting research, putting together the report, and creating the presentation. Each team is allowed to have one adviser from its respective school, and Southern’s group selected Joelle Akiki, professor in the School of Business.

Southern’s team members are all involved in the Student Managed Asset Risk and Return Training (SMARRT) Fund on campus and tasked with managing an endowment for the university that is currently valued at more than $600,000. 

Using the Bloomberg terminals located in Southern’s finance lab, the team was able to access Cracker Barrel’s financial data, such as 10-K filings and financial statements, a privilege afforded to SMARRT Fund members. A Bloomberg terminal is a software system that enables finance professionals to monitor and analyze real-time financial market data.

“Our success in the CFA challenge is a testament to the support of the Bloomberg terminals and our finance lab, as well as the dedication of the School of Business professors,” Akiki says.

According to senior finance major Abi Cornelius, this year’s SMARRT president and team lead of Southern’s CFA research team, students built the framework and did early research for their project in the fall and over Christmas Break. When they returned to school in January, the bulk of the work began. 

The team’s final report was due in early February, then allowing approximately three weeks to create and prepare their research presentation for the panel of CFA judges in the Alliance Bernstein Building in Nashville, Tennessee.

“We were given a mentor from the CFA Institute and had Professor Akiki along with some of last year’s team members provide a little guidance, but the challenge still involved many hours of work and late nights in the finance lab,” Cornelius says. “Pretty much all of the research we conducted was done on the Bloomberg terminals. We got analysts’ insights, saw the latest financial news, read through documents, and listened to earnings calls.”

Akiki says that it is vital to have resources like the Bloomberg terminals available for students as well as business professors who can be strong mentors: “The commitment to excellence demonstrated by our business professors and their tireless efforts in nurturing the next generation of professionals played a pivotal role in shaping the team’s success in the challenge.”

Both Akiki and Cornelius are hopeful that future teams from Southern can continue to grow and excel in the annual CFA Research Challenge.

Southern’s $20 million School of Business Leadership and Innovation Campaign will support a new building and program endowment that benefits students and programs like these. To learn more, visit southern.edu/gobusiness.

-by Gabriella Grundy, senior business-public relations major

Four Southern Adventist University students won awards at the 2023-24 American Advertising (ADDY) Awards Chattanooga this spring, beating out thousands of other applicants in the student bracket. Hosted by the American Advertising Federation, the ADDY Awards are the largest creative competition in the world, with a tiered competition starting locally. 

“Having an award like this on a student's resume shows potential employers that he or she has the skills and ambition that it takes to succeed in this industry,” explains Mindy Trott, ’06, MFA, professor in the School of Visual Art and Design. 

Elennie Ramirez, senior graphic design major, won the Student Best-of-Show ADDY, a Judge’s Choice ADDY, a Silver ADDY, and a Gold ADDY. Katie Rose, junior graphic design major, won a Judge’s Choice ADDY and a Gold ADDY. Andrew Boggess, senior mass communication and photography major, and Preston Waters, junior marketing major, won a Silver ADDY together. 

“I couldn’t believe it when I won four awards,” Ramirez shares. She had created a series of posters for a television show and a branding campaign for a restaurant during previous semesters. At Trott’s suggestion, she submitted both to the ADDY Awards and won two awards for each submission.

Rose submitted a bus wrap advertisement for a fundraising campaign. Originally, she made the wrap for her Advertising Design class, but Victoria Carlson, adjunct professor in the School of Visual Art and Design, suggested that she submit it to the ADDY awards as well.

Boggess and Waters originally co-produced their winning documentary titled “Tremolo” for their Directing a Documentary class. The film features Emmy Award-winning Gary Fry and his Grammy-nominated son, Cody Fry. The film follows Gary Fry through his college experience and his struggle with choosing music as a profession. 

“We’re proud of the time, effort, and tenacity our students put forth. It's a wonderful to see how it’s paid off at this stage in their education,” Trott shares. “In addition to seeing our students succeed, it was also great to celebrate about half a dozen Southern Adventist University alumni winning awards this year.”

-by Chehalis Eno, junior English major

Only eight months after the founding of the Hearts 4 Mission International ministry (H4MI)—the newest department of the Adventist-laymen’s Services & Industries (ASI)—Southern alum Jason Blanchard, ’97, boarded a plane to the African country of Malawi. Blanchard, the CEO of H4MI, was traveling with a team of medical missionaries heading over to perform a series of heart surgeries for Malawian locals who either could not afford or would otherwise have to travel overseas for lifesaving, specialized procedures like heart surgeries.

During this trip to Blantyre Adventist Hospital in November 2023, the H4MI team successfully performed Malawi’s first seven open-heart surgeries, offering hope to millions of cardiac patients in the country. In the moments following the first surgery, when surgeons and other hospital staff cheered and celebrated, a woman sitting next to Blanchard in the waiting room asked what the commotion was about.

“Today was the first successful open-heart surgery in Malawi,” Blanchard told the woman, to which she responded, “You have brought hope to this country.” Those seven words shook Blanchard to his core, deeply affirming the importance of H4MI’s work.

“We didn’t just bring surgeons and nurses; we brought hope,” Blanchard reminisces.

Malawi has always been close to Blanchard’s heart, as he spent a significant part of his childhood living there when his parents were missionaries and later served as the CEO of Malamulo Adventist Hospital in Makwasa from 2014-2020. It was during this time that he learned more about the alarming rates of rheumatic heart disease and other heart issues in the country. Additionally, a harrowing statistic and reality for sub-Saharan Africa is that for every 14.3 million people, there is only one cardiothoracic surgeon. “It is hard to assess the real impact of cardiac problems in this region of Africa because most people will die from their medical issues before they can ever see a doctor,” Blanchard says.

In 2020, Blanchard began his current role working at Loma Linda University Health as the executive director of clinical operations, where he was able to connect with several medical professionals who would later become key to the formation of H4MI, and consequently the heart surgeries in Malawi. Even one of Blanchard’s neighbors, a cardiac nurse, joined H4MI as a board member, joined the November 2023 trip, and returned during a second group visit in April 2024.

Blanchard’s main goal in Malawi is to build partnerships with both governmental and non-governmental agencies, as well as local businesses, in order to create home-based avenues for funding. His understanding of Malawian culture, combined with his background in administration, aids him in this process. He attributes some of these skills to his time at Southern in the mid-90s as a public relations student.

Classes that Blanchard took from Southern, such as marketing and public speaking, equipped him with skills that he has used in the mission field. “Principles that I learned in these classes help me to be an effective communicator and develop ways to pull at people’s heartstrings to elicit a desire to be involved in mission work,” Blanchard says.

However, Blanchard notes that the main thing he gained from Southern is far more valuable than any classes he took: having the baseline of an Adventist education. “You need to be in a place where God can work on you, especially at such a young and impressionable age,” he says. “Attending Southern gave me my wife (Erin Fardulis Blanchard, ’97), my kids, and a background of caring that I have carried with me into every position.”

Hoping to return again later this year in November, Blanchard says that trips will become less frequent as they continue to train and educate locals to take on the work.

“Our goal is not to continue setting up surgical and cardiology camps; it is to create a sustainable model for Africa, which for us means educating African surgeons to become heart surgeons and African nurses to become surgery and critical care nurses, eventually building an institution filled with quality equipment and capable cardiologists,” Blanchard explains. Through Christ-centered and sustainable cardiology and cardiothoracic surgical services, he hopes that H4MI can continue to be an agent of change in sub-Saharan Africa.

-by Gabriella Grundy, senior business-public relations major