Rising Stars These young alumni are already FALL 2008 FALL Shaping the Future THE MCMURRY UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI & FRIENDS FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear McMurry Alumni and Friends: McMurry is blessed with a rich tradition of graduates real-world looks at the impact a McMurry Experience who have gone on to personal and professional success has had on their personal and professional lives. The and who have traveled down a variety of paths on their snapshot you’ll see is one that has clearly been shaped journeys to success. And by these graduates’ stay on the while we all understand McMurry campus, and the that we are “under faculty, staff and classmates construction” throughout with whom they shared that our lives, many of our more experience. mature alumni have moved Take a look at this most to the point in their lives diverse group of McMurry where “finishing touches” alumni – diverse in their are being applied to their journeys to McMurry and most well-developed portfolios. divergent in the paths they’ve We are continuously traveled after graduation. And inspired by these study carefully the common individuals. They provide threads of their experiences… a real-world perspective of concerned and caring faculty what it means to apply the members who energized them lessons of their McMurry to achieve their dreams; coaches Experiences. They inspire who shaped their perspectives us with long records of of team work, loyalty and demonstrated leadership self-discipline; and warm and within their communities continuing connections with – their businesses, their classmates who formed their schools, their churches most valuable support groups. and their homes. In short, Please enjoy reading about they’ve been there…done some young alumni – leaders that…have the T-shirt… in their communities – their and wear it well! businesses, their schools, their churches and their This issue of the Chieftain proudly provides you an homes…leaders and rising stars of today…and in the early look at some folks we’ll be talking about in the years years to come. to come. And yet they are young alumni who would admit to you that they are “under construction.” Like With Warm Regards, those who have gone before them, their profiles provide John H. Russell, President THE ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF MCMURRY UNIVERSITY FALL 2008 Publisher McMurry University McMurry’s New Generation 20 Athletics Update Relations Office of Rising Stars Box 938 McM Station Friends & Family Abilene, Texas 79697 4 Burgundy Road 23 From the Alumni Director Editor-in-Chief 6 Happy Castro Nancy Smith ’79 24 Event Photos 8 Kay Younggren Editors 28 Class Notes Gary Ellison 10 Jorge Montoya Lori Thornton 34 Friends We’ll Miss 12 JoLisa Hoover Alumni Editor Greeley Myers ’93 14 Shana Bristow Art Director 16 Ogonna Merritt Sheila Kitts ’01 17 George Levesque Photographers 18 Cornell Watts Gary Ellison Sheila Kitts 23 Contributing Writers Brenda Davis ’78 Ben Dobson Gary Ellison Greeley Myers ’93 John Russell Nancy Smith ’79 12 33 ©2008 Record Enrollment Magnet School DNA Sequencer MCMURRY PRESIDENT AND OFFICERS McMurry University is McMurry and the Abilene McMurry has received enjoying its largest total Independent School a grant from LI-COR Dr. John H. Russell enrollment since 1988 and District unveiled the Biosciences to help PRESIDENT a record number of new 5th Grade Math/Science purchase a DNA Dr. Beverly Lenoir students for the Fall 2008 Magnet classroom August sequencer, possibly VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS semester. McMurry opens 19. The classroom consists the first of its kind in Dave Voskuil the academic year this of 22 fifth grade students Abilene. The $102,000 VICE PRESIDENT FOR ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT fall with an enrollment who will be taught instrument is a workhorse of 1522 total students, up the regular fifth-grade in biotechnology, with Lisa Williams VICE PRESIDENT FOR FINANCIAL AFFAIRS from 1466 last year, a 4.1% curriculum required by applications in genetics, increase and the largest the state of Texas, with molecular biology, Steve Crisman VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL enrollment in recent an emphasis on math and medical research ADVANCEMENT history. science. and much more. The instrument will be a Brad Poorman VICE PRESIDENT FOR INFORMATION & cornerstone for the new Support SERVICES Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Science. McMurry’s New Generation of Rising Stars They’re young...they’re talented... and they’re shaping the future! Samuel Ullman was an American businessman, poet and humanitarian who died in 1924. He is best known for the poem entitled Youth, which was a favorite of General Douglas McArthur. The poem speaks of youth, not in the context of age but in the quality of one’s existence and a capacity for excellence. It begins: Youth is not a time of life—it is a state of mind, it is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over love of ease. This implies that any person at any age can possess an internal “fountain of youth” that springs from constantly reviewing, reassessing and renewing one’s outlooks, goals and perceptions of the world and our place in it. “Youth” in this description is the most productive stage in one’s life. Likewise, as we age, we tend to become more cynical, more preoccupied with daily pressures and the monotony of routine, and in general, we have less physical energy to turn our great ideas into realities. When this occurs, our “fountain” may be reduced to a “trickle.” Young people, and more specific to the context of this Chieftain, young alumni of McMurry University, do possess the physical 2 MCMURRY UNIVERSITY McMURRY’S RISING STARS McMurry was an incubator for them to channel their ideas and refine their creativity, a testing and resting place for them to mature... energy to turn great ideas into realities, as well as the “My professors shared one-on-one time listening….” knowledge and educational credentials to impact the “The faculty and staff…served with such kindness and world of medicine, law, technology and business. Do genuine concern…” all achieve the same levels of success in their chosen “There were so many people who encouraged me.” careers? Certainly not, but we are constantly made “I must now give my patients the same gift my aware of young alumni who have made extraordinary professors gave me—personal attention.” accomplishments. Through this issue of the Chieftain, “[My professor] was always concerned for my well- you will meet some of them. being and I knew she cared about me as a person.” What are the keys to their success? According to “He always told me to do the right thing, but more the Center for Generational Studies, our young alumni importantly, he taught me that by his example.” fall into the generational category of individuals born “[My coaches] taught me guiding principles for my between 1981 and 1994. Also known as “Generation future life.” Y” or “Millennials,” they are by nature optimistic, entrepreneurial and creative; they have a positive Throughout each story, you will see names outlook and are a forward thinking generation. And of individuals who shaped the lives of these young despite what some Baby Boomers may think, they alumni through belief in their abilities and through respect opinions of older generations and respond well a commitment to helping them discover and refine to mentoring from older individuals. An award-winning their talents. These mentors encouraged, nurtured author and motivational speaker from Austin, Texas, and gave of themselves selflessly, and our Rising Stars named Jason Dorsey, was eighteen years old when he directly attribute much of their success to those caring wrote his first book and developed a career preparation individuals. The productive traits of youth that Ullman curriculum for high school students. Now age 30, he refers to are shared by caring mentors, along with their refers often in his books and his speeches to various experiential wisdom, through the mentorship process. mentors who were influential to his success: “If anyone Talented young servant leaders, such as our Rising Stars, has made the most positive difference in my life, it has infuse their own dreams and goals, and then utilize been my mentors. Consistently, their encouragement, their talents and energies to positively impact future guidance and wisdom have kept me on the path to generations through new discoveries and improved achieving my goals.” methodologies. In reading the following pages about successful An institution of higher learning is only as young alumni, you will see a common strand that successful as its graduates’ contributions, and its links all of them. McMurry was an incubator for them graduates are only as successful as the quality of the to channel their ideas and refine their creativity, a educational, spiritual and interpersonal experiences testing and resting place for them to mature under they receive during their college careers. McMurry the nurturing guidance of caring mentors in the University is proud of the contributions of these young form of professors, coaches, campus ministers and Rising Stars and many more like them, and we are proud administrative staff. of the impact that this University and its people have Here is a sampling of their comments about these made in their lives. individuals: MCMURRY UNIVERSITY 3 Shaping a and joy. So the name of the band is a metaphor for the Road to Calvary.” The band continued to learn and develop as they played in Texas Youth Melody of Hope Commission facilities across the state over the next three years. Talent and perseverance led to opportunity. “Things for the Future started happening without us necessarily asking for it or even wanting it,” said Phillip.