UC Gives the Gift of Giving Back

UC students Michael O’Brien, Alyssa Sims, Cole Stickler and Haley Damron show off a single donation for the Hutton School of Business’ teddy bear drive.
Photo credit: Haley Damron

The Christmas season brings joy to the students and faculty at University of the Cumberlands as they finish another semester with thankfulness and relief. Students anticipate leaving their dorms for their own beds and to spend time with their families and friends back home. However, every year the UC community has always found a way to give back to their Williamsburg, Ky. community before the semester ends. Academic departments and Christian organizations often take the opportunity to give back during Christmas time.

Hutton School of Business at UC is sponsoring a stuffed animal drive this Christmas. The fuzzy, faux creatures will be given to children taken from their homes by social services during the holidays and thereafter. The drive runs from Nov. 17 to Dec. 4. All stuffed animals, new and gently used, will be donated to Whitley County Social Services branch through the Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services. Jane Carter, associate professor of Business Administration, came up with the idea as a proposal for the Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society’s community service project.

“My goal is at least 75 stuffed creatures,” Carter said. “If we can get that, I would be really thrilled; if we exceed it, I’ll do my happy dance. I’m expecting some really great things from the students, faculty and staff in our department.”

By incorporating everyone involved in the HSB department, Carter said she hopes to raise awareness about the troubles children have when they are taken from their homes for their own protection. By donating stuffed animals to the social services, each child can be reminded they are cared for during the traumatizing event.

“Anytime you can help children in your local area is a blessing,” Agnes Brown, HSB administrative assistant, said. “That stuffed animal won’t take the place of the parents or foster parents, but it will give them some comfort knowing someone cares for them by giving them the teddy bear.”

Even though Christmas time is known as a time to appreciate all that is received and give back in thanks, Carter said giving back to the community shouldn’t be a seasonal occurrence. Social services can take a child from their home at any point in a year, so having the stuffed animal drive can raise awareness of the struggles these children feel as well as help those affected children feel comfort in tough family situations at any time during the year, not just the Christmas season.

“This shouldn’t be limited to Christmas; charitable giving and love shouldn’t be seasonal,” Carter said. “What I see happening with students involved in this program is that they’re starting to think about what young children have to cope with and if there is anything we can do to help, we need to do it.”

Giving back to the children and families in the local area is a goal for many Christmas time community service projects, especially for UC’s Mountain Outreach organization. Marc Hensley, director of Mountain Outreach, continues the annual Gift Day and other festivities for at risk children in the area along with the several other projects he runs for Mountain Outreach throughout the year.

This year, preparation for Gift Day, known as the annual Midnight Shopping Spree, is Dec. 5 and Gift Day is Dec. 13 at the Mountain Outreach Warehouse. For Gift Day, registered families are escorted through the warehouse by volunteers to choose toys, receive their $50 food voucher to Save-A-Lot Williamsburg and a box of food courtesy of God’s Pantry. Many groups and foundations generously donate everything Mountain Outreach provides.

“We keep in mind that this is Christmas time,” Hensley said about giving back for Gift Day. “God gave us the gift of Jesus as our savior, so the whole idea behind gift day is the gift.”

Hensley said his primary goal for Mountain Outreach during Gift Day is to be good stewards for the Lord, but to remain accountable and fair to all. Along with Hensley, many volunteers give countless hours of time for Gift Day and its process. Dirk Berta, a UC senior and member of Mountain Outreach, is participating in the entire process of Gift Day.

Student volunteers crowd the Williamsburg, Ky. Walmart’s toy section for the annual Midnight Shopping Spree. Photo credit: UC Multimedia & Athletic Services

“As a Christian, you’re supposed to let your light shine and give back to the community,” Berta said. “I think as a Christian university, we’re doing a great job at giving back. Mountain Outreach is just another vessel for God to use.”

God uses many vessels on UC’s campus to help give back to the community. Sigma Tau Delta

, the English Honor Society, is doing the Angel Tree again this year. Last year, faculty sponsor Dr. Cristy Hall said they sponsored a four-year-old girl. This year, Dr. Hall said she hopes her group can sponsor an older boy by providing clothing and gifts for Christmas.

“I have a big vision for a small budget,” Dr. Hall said. “I don’t think you can ever go wrong when helping a kid.”

Anyone can give back during the holiday season. UC students and faculty can give back to their community by volunteering with UC’s Mountain Outreach and Appalachian Ministries or by going out on their own, whenever possible, to donate time or money to organizations that make life easier for less fortunate people.

David Gray brings experience to UC’s Criminal Justice department

Photo Credit: UC Multimedia & Athletic Services.
Headshot taken when Gray joined UC full time.

David Gray, an associate professor of Criminal Justice at the University of the Cumberlands (UC), has a set of tire prints on cardboard sitting against the wall in his office and a finger print kit on a shelf. During his career before coming to UC, Gray worked many jobs in law enforcement, from traffic control to eradicating marijuana growths and methamphetamine labs. Gray takes his field experience and knowledge from his career in law enforcement to his students majoring in Criminal Justice.

“I thought it was interesting and I had always wanted to do law enforcement,” Gray said. My father was in law enforcement, so I kept it in the family.”

Gray’s 36-year career in law enforcement began when he immediately joined the military right after his high school graduation. His time was split equally between the military police force and military corrections at Ft. Benning, Ga. upon completing his schooling at Ft. Gordon, Ga. He worked as a correctional specialist, in which he transported prisoners to prison bases. Despite the military’s purpose to protect and serve, crimes were still committed and had to be dealt with by military police and corrections.

Gray’s career in the military and all he had done prepared him for his position with the Phenix City, Ala. Police Department that he immediately received after leaving the military in 1976. He began as a patrol officer, but soon worked his way through to ranks to sergeant detective. However, nothing on the job was ever the same for him.

“You never knew what the next thing was,” Gray said. “It could be a shooting to a burglary to a kidnapping; you name it.”

The job of a detective came with a heavy burden. Law enforcement works for justice, but sometimes life wasn’t fair for the just. Gray, while working with the Phenix City Police Department, had to experience gruesome deaths and travesties while working major crimes as a sergeant detective. One in particular, a three or four-car pileup on the bridge between Columbus, Ga. and Phenix City, Ala. was exceptionally gory. According to Gray, a truck lost control on the bridge, ran into two or three cars, which caused the truck to go over the side of the bridge, killing five or six people total.

“Deaths on the job were the worst,” Gray said. “Nothing was ever the same.”

Gray spent six years at Phenix City, but that was because he stumbled upon a job opportunity at the Myrtle Beach, S.C. Police Department by accident. His sister introduced him to the Chief of Police of Myrtle Beach during his visit and was soon offered a job in an unconventional manner.

“I think it was a Sunday night and I drove all night back to Phenix City,” Gray said. “When I got back in the morning, the phone rang at my house and it was the chief. I picked up the phone and he said ‘this is the chief of police at Myrtle Beach Police Department’ and I went ‘Yeah, and I’m the King of England. Goodbye, I’m sleeping.’”

Gray worked the 911 phone line and the jail at Myrtle Beach for eight years. He said 911 wasn’t an issue for him, but during the summer months, working the jail would keep him busy.

“We would average about 300 intakes a night during the summer,” Gray said.

Gray said the police department would hold intoxicated people for about four hours. He would check on them after a few hours and if they had sobered up, they paid the fee and would be on their way. Gray remembered one person in particular that he arrested about four times in one night.

“Well, the first time, he was surfing on top of a car that was driving on the road,” Gray started his story. “So, he was arrested for riding a portion of a vehicle not designed to be ridden. And then, I can’t really remember what the second time was, maybe it was for having an open container, and I want to say he had an open container again, and then I finally got him for intoxication and he had to stay for four hours.”

His time with that police department gave him a new perspective and schedule because of the unique position the city was in. Gray said he wouldn’t have any time off during the summer months because of how popular the destination was for vacations, but he would have training and time off during the dead winter months.

“I didn’t have a family back then; I was divorced, but I couldn’t get my son because he was in school,” Gray said about his unique job. “It was real hard for the guys with families. That was one of the reasons why I wanted to leave Myrtle Beach.”

After working drug cases during the winter months in Myrtle Beach, Gray became interested in that sort of work and applied for a job with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). He was accepted on short noticed around Christmas time 1989 and reported to Quantico, Va. Jan. 2, 1990 for training and stationing. At first, Gray was stationed in the Charleston, S.C. DEA office for six months until he was transferred to the Atlanta, Ga. field office. There he was a special agent and a safety officer for clandestine labs. The Atlanta office covered Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee, in which Gray traveled and sought out where illegal Methamphetamine, Quaaludes and other drug labs were located.

“So, if there was a lab, I would have to go and help the other guys neutralize and make the lab safe,” Gray said. “We actually had a contractor that would come in and take all the stuff, but we still had to take samples, collect evidence and make sure it was what we thought it was.”

Gray’s other position in the DEA that kept him busy was with marijuana eradication, in which a task force made up of DEA agents, Georgia Bureau of Investigations, Fish and Wildlife and The National Guard would fly over the entire state looking for large growths, and if they spotted a growth, either indoor or outdoor, they would call in a ground team to cut the plants and then they would take the evidence back to their labs for eradication. Gray said the DEA made federal cases as often as they could, but their main job was to find large growths and destroy them.

“Everyone thinks they [suspects] would have three or four joints and go to jail, but in our cases, they had over 100 plants or 100 pounds of marijuana,” Gray said. “We made quite a few cases every year.”

Gray had a 20-year career with the DEA and retired July 31, 2010. After his official retirement from law enforcement, he taught at Somerset Community College in Somerset, Ky. briefly.

“It just wasn’t for me,” Gray said about his short experience teaching at Somerset Community College.

Gray called UC looking for a part-time position in the Criminal Justice department, in which Justin DeCecca, department chair and associate professor, said there was a full-time position available. Gray is now in his second year as a professor of Criminal Justice at UC.

“Professor Gray is able to utilize his expertise in Criminal Investigation and apply the methods and research to the courses he teaches,” DeCecca said. “I believe growth of our program is due to the fact that each professor can utilize their real world experience and incorporate it into the lecture.”

Gray, with his extensive knowledge and background in Criminal Justice, has brought students in the department a hands-on experience in the classroom. Gray said he believes that a student must practice and understand what the world of Criminal Justice is like so they have a realistic understanding of what they’re studying and what they would like to do with their degree for their career. Gray helps students figure out what else they should study along with Criminal Justice, so they can have a better understanding of their field.

“That’s the thing about Criminal Justice, you have to have some experience and you have to have some knowledge to tell the person [about the field],” Gray said. “And if you don’t do that, I think you’re doing a great injustice to that person, so that’s why you have to talk to the person about what they want to do and what else they need to study to be good in their particular Criminal Justice field.”

How to Find a Job after College

Photo Credit: Economic Policy Institute and Slate. Slate.com shows how the rate of unemployment and underemployment for recent college grads has been steadily increasing, especially since the beginning of the recession in 2008.

College is supposedly the best four years of a person’s life, at least, that’s what you’re told. But in today’s economy, college can be the four most difficult and worrisome years for a person because of the threat of not being able to find a good job after graduation. The lesson everyone is taught in grade school is that the goal is to go to college and study what makes you happy and then find that dream career, but the world just doesn’t work that way. That fairytale doesn’t exist.

During today’s economic hardships, one of the biggest fears a college student has is finding a job in their particular field after graduation. According to Accenture, an online organization that provides management consultations and technology and outsourcing services, five percent of college graduates are unemployed after graduation because of difficulties finding a job in the market, and 40 percent are working a job that doesn’t require a college degree. Now, college students are working jobs and earning the same wage as people without degrees. Loans come back as the silent killer for college students. It’s a scary world when a 19-year-old’s primary worry is finding a job in a few years because there are so few jobs available in most fields.

However, by thinking ahead of graduation and getting prepared to find a proper job while in college can make the search easier and more successful by following a few tips.

The first place a college senior should visit is the career services center at their school in order to get prepared for job searching. Debbie Harp, director of University of the Cumberlands’ career services, is the go-to woman for any questions or concerns about finding employment post-graduation.

“It would be wonderful if I could guarantee people jobs,” Harp said about her work as director of career services.

In the career services center, Harp has information packets and connections that can give any student an edge in order to find a job after college. According to Harp, the most important item a college student needs in order to find a job after college is being prepared. And by prepared, she means having everything in a tool belt when it comes to the job hunt and making strong first impressions on possible employers.

“College students should have a solid resume, practice their interviewing skills, know how to network and know how to dress properly for a job interview,” Harp said. “Also, a job won’t land in your lap; you have to go out and seek it.”

She also stressed that too many students don’t research the company prior to their interview, which can lead to a downfall and no job. Harp said one must approach a job interview like a class project, in which researching the company, their mission, their products and the position is required.

A second way for a graduate to find a job in their field after college would be through an internship. Internships are hailed as the best way to get a foot in the door for most jobs, which is why a college student should seriously consider finding one according to Harp.

“You can find an internship through your department [at school],” Harp said. “Or just finding a summer job can help.”

One of the best ways to guarantee a job after graduation, at least, having a better chance at finding one, is to gain experience in the particular field. Internships and summer jobs provide this for students whose fields require a degree and then some. Jeremiah Massengale, associate professor of journalism, said that the journalism field is unique because employers want to see proof, a portfolio, of which a student has done the work that of an entry-level position.

Students will want to work for a TV station because they have a degree for it, but that [degree] won’t automatically land them a job if they haven’t been involved in TV at their college,” Massengale said.

Third, college students should discover talents and perfect skills through specialized classes in their field during the semester. UC professor of business administration and management information systems, Ken Sims, said picking up skills from elective classes is a smart way to gain more knowledge in your field. Most students need about 120 hours in order to graduate; therefore, they should be able to pick up skills, like writing.

“I would consider writing an important skill,” Sims said. “Being able to write and present yourself in a professional manner is important [for finding a job].”

And lastly, another approach to finding a great job after graduation is by maintaining grades throughout your college career. Harp stresses that employers want to know they are hiring the right person and the proof is in the grades. Also, a high GPA is required for anyone considering graduate school programs since most programs and schools are selective to begin with. The common saying amongst college students may be “C’s get degrees,” but it may not get you into graduate school or the dream job.

Because college is meant to be the four best years of a young person’s life, students shouldn’t have to worry about the future as much as young adults do today. Life is hard and college is meant to teach those lessons and give a smooth transition from the remaining days of childhood into the first days of adulthood. So, by following these tips, college can still be the best time of your life.

UC’s Dr. Steve Sudduth Directs More than Music

Dr. Steven Sudduth conducts UC’s Marching Band during one of their regular performances during a football game. Photo Credit: UC Multimedia & Athletic Services

Dr. Steve Sudduth, University of the Cumberlands’ (UC) Director of Bands, covered the walls of his office with memorabilia from concerts and photos of his family. Strewn across the floor are brass instruments resting on their horns while mouthpieces for trombones and baritones line the bookshelf below a collection of concert CDs. Dr. Sudduth’s history and experiences surround him every day when he comes to work, a place where he has found part of his identity as a person and as a college band director.

In his nineteenth year as a college band director, Sudduth has traveled the United States for his profession, spending three years at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina, seven years at Dickinson State University in North Dakota, two years at University of South Dakota and is now in his seventh year at UC. Sudduth said it is the nature of his job to travel because he is only qualified for one job, a college band director.

“It’s nice having my son in band, it’s nice having my wife work with the band and my other two kids are in band in the high school and middle school [Whitley County],” Dr. Sudduth said. “It is truly a great place to work when your family can be involved in your work. Coming here to the Cumberlands was definitely the right choice.”

At Pfeiffer University, Sudduth had his start as a director of a college band, but then he was offered the job at Dickinson State University. During his time at Dickinson, Sudduth created their marching band from scratch and it was the only band in the entire conference because having a marching band was nearly impossible with the climate’s impact on the area. Sudduth moved up to University of South Dakota to take the position of director of bands, but it wasn’t the step up he perceived it to be.

“I work at colleges that I perceive to be bigger and better,” Dr. Sudduth said. “I ended up at the University of South Dakota and the work environment there was very strangled; it just felt like I was working in a morgue.”

Because of his unhappiness at the University of South Dakota, Sudduth started applying for a new job, but he elected to only apply to private institutions after only working at state schools. When the decision came down between UC and another college, Sudduth said he felt like UC was the better choice because of how the faculty and students wanted to be there and enjoyed what they do. As for taking a step up, Sudduth said he believes UC is a step up because of the work environment UC has rather than the physical size or popularity of the school. Sudduth credited his happiness at UC to his students’ desire to learn and his co-workers’ desire to teach.

“Coming here, I found a wonderful working relationship with the faculty,” Dr. Sudduth said. “It wasn’t always like that in other places [colleges]. Other places felt like a crosstown, but everyone here feels like your neighbor.”

As the director of UC’s band programs, he is involved in each band on campus and has to make sure everyone is doing their job. He acts as the audience for marching band during their practices, in which he has group leaders from each section of the band conducting the field. However, he takes a different approach when conducting concert band and the university band.

“Each band is like a different person with its own personality,” Dr. Sudduth said.” “I have to pick up a different role with each band since they all serve a different purpose.”

When he arrived at UC, Sudduth realized the band was disarrayed. It was in shambles because the program went through several directors in the matter of a few years. Sudduth changed that by providing stability and by creating the SUDDZ crew, which is the group of student leaders who lead warm ups in their sections and advise Sudduth in music choices. Maegan Cope, a sophomore SUDDZ crewmember, is one of the many students Dr. Sudduth has given a student leadership position in the marching band.

“He always wants us involved in making decisions to insure the season is better and more fun for the entire band,” Cope said. “If we have an idea of something we think would be cool and effective, he will take the time to consider it.”

The organization has solidified the marching band over the years because of Sudduth’s idea of mixing the training for exhibitions, or marching competitions, with the practice of entertaining the crowd at a UC football games. Sudduth does a hybrid because he has to train his music majors to be competitive. During his regular marching band practice, they’ll march and do things that they would need to know at a competition, but at the same time, he makes sure the band can meet the entertainment expectations a football crowd would have.

As for concert band, Sudduth noticed a drop in participation between marching band and concert band, which led to the splitting of concert band into the symphonic band and the university band. Symphonic band focuses on more difficult pieces and it requires longer hours of practice and dedication from students. This dedication conflicted with non-music major band students who just wanted an outlet for their craft, which is why university band was created and has been successful.

Even though Sudduth has made a lasting impact on UC’s band programs, he still struggles with common problems that affect him and the entire band. The equipment used for transporting larger instruments along the field for marching band is heavily used and worn down to a point that they need to be replaced; however, Sudduth said money is a large issue and he cannot replace everything. He often resorts to repairing the equipment himself to save money for something he can’t do himself.

“I learned a long time ago to take what you got and work with it,” Sudduth said about overcoming the struggles. “Through that experience, I became a pretty good mechanic. Now, if I could just learn how to weld.”

On top of running UC’s band programs, he participates in community bands, both directing and playing the trombone. He participates in the London Jazz Orchestra; Jazz in the ‘Burg, which is a local, once a month jazz group that plays at the Whitley County Fine Arts Extension Center in Williamsburg, Ky.; and directs the Southern Stars Symphonic Brass band, a professional concert band based in Crossville, Tenn.

“Williamsburg doesn’t have a jazz group, so we humorously put one together that meets once a month and we sell root beer and snacks because if you’re in a jazz club, you got to have drinks and snacks to sell or else it’s not a jazz club,” Dr. Sudduth said about Jazz in the ‘Burg. “It’s another environment we have to try to provide jazz, band, music and culture here in Whitley County.”

Sudduth has made an impressive career as a college band director for himself, but he credits a motto he stands by, in which is typed on a piece of paper to serve as a reminder, “Just because it failed in the past doesn’t mean it can’t succeed in the future.”

Jillian Carpenter’s determination brings forth “The Choice”

Photo Credit: UC Multimedia & Athletic Services UC’s David Atwood portrays Daniel, the protagonist struggling with his inner voice.

Jillian Carpenter, a senior psychology and theatre at University of the Cumberlands, has connected with her community in Williamsburg, Ky. through UC Dance Team, a staff photographer for The Patriot newspaper, actor in UC theatre productions, a playwright and a dance teacher at The Dance Centre in Williamsburg, Ky. Carpenter, being an open, receptive person, decided to tackle the closed, thorny topic of suicide and suicide prevention in her play “The Choice.”

“The Choice” tells the story of Daniel and his inner voice that he struggles with over depression and suicide. The play is about suicide prevention; however, Carpenter wrote a penetrating story to show how a person navigates thoughts of suicide and depression, which is a common and unacknowledged epidemic today.

“It [the play] is less about why you shouldn’t do it [commit suicide], but rather more about why people do it so they can reach out,” Carpenter said.

Her inspiration came from everyone she knew who had suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts. She wanted to be able to reach out to those people and grasp what they felt. Carpenter said she nearly backed out of submitting this play for her senior colloquium, but when a friend of hers committed suicide over the summer, her play became a way of honoring her friend and how she wants to reach out to people suffering from depression.

“I hope that people will see this as a chance to really think about what it’s like to be depressed in an environment where they don’t have to feel like it’s a strange or touchy subject,” Carpenter said.

Suicide is the third-leading cause of death of people between the ages of 15 and 24 according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

“There are four risk factors we typically associate with teen suicide: hostility, negative self-concept, isolation and hopelessness,” Phillip Rutter, psychologist and assistant professor at Widener University, said.

When it came to finishing the first draft of the play, Carpenter said she didn’t want the ending to seem phony, so the hardest part was writing an actual suicide into the play. Carpenter made this decision to hone in on that fact that life doesn’t always end happily, but it was still a hard decision to make and go through with for Carpenter.

“I didn’t even want to see a fictional character go through with something like this,” Carpenter said. “It was even harder when I decided upon doing this play and revisited the scene to judge how realistic the ending was. It was my friend’s suicide that made me decide on doing the play, but it made that final scene much more real to me.”

Carpenter’s goal to seek the truth about suicide and her desire to reached out to her peers through her play was successful because a performance of her play occurred Sept. 19 in the Kohn Theatre. Carpenter’s determination to reveal the true side of mental illness and suicide reached UC students, faculty and Williamsburg community members who watched the performance.