SONNY TRIMBLE (’74): FROM THE GROUND UP / INSIDE PITCH / MAKING HISTORY / DAVID BLAND (’76): FINANCIAL WRANGLER SPRING 2015 SENIOR JOHN MARBACH: WHY I CAME BACK THE MAGAZINE OF WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY FEATURES 42 INSIDE PITCH By Cherin C. Poovey (P ’08) Photography by Ken Bennett Four years after outfielder Kevin Jordan received a lifesaving kidney from his baseball coach, Tom Walter, their emotional bond is strong — and silent. 2 50 WHY I CAME BACK LAUNCH! By Maria Henson (’82) By Carol Hanner Senior entrepreneur John Marbach dropped Since the Innovation, Creativity and out of college for $100,000. He returned in Entrepreneurship program began 10 years search of greater reward. ago, enterprising students have been churning out ideas and turning them into reality. 12 56 FROM THE GROUND UP By Joy Goodwin (’95) A PRESIDENTIAL CAPSTONE By Maria Henson (’82) From Iraq to Arlington National Cemetery, archaeologist Sonny Trimble (’74) searches Nathan O. Hatch takes his place in one of the for history — and what remains. world’s most prestigious honorary societies, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. 26 100 MAKING HISTORY By Kerry M. King (’85) CONSTANT & TRUE By Kasha Patel (’12) What do DNA, fertilizer and quantum mechanics have in common? Faculty say NASA writer by day and comedian by night, these discoveries represent some of the most Kasha Patel embraces an unlikely career combo. important dates in history. “At Wake,” she says, “I learned how to stand up for my ideas — pun intended.” 32 FINANCIAL WRANGLER DEPARTMENTS By Susannah Rosenblatt (’03) David Bland’s (’76, P ’04) brand of social 64 Philanthropy 66 Around the Quad entrepreneurship is bringing homes — and 65 Remember When? 68 Class Notes hope — to Indian Country. WAKEFOREST FROM theh PRESIDENT MAGAZINE to mark the publication of this, the first issue of Wake Forest SPRING 2015 | VOLUME 62 | NUMBER 2 Magazine in 2015, I want to share my thinking about our goals at the University. I would like our wider community to know about the following comments I made ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT AND EDITOR-AT-LARGE in The Charlotte Observer last fall. Maria Henson (’82) Higher education is in the MANAGING EDITOR Cherin C. Poovey (P ’08) business of trying to make a difference in the world and to SENIOR EDITOR Kerry M. King (’85) lead lives that transcend mere self-interest. We aim to DEPUTY EDITOR Janet Williamson (P ’00, ’03) commit ourselves to larger purposes for humanity, or Pro CREATIVE DIRECTOR Hayes Henderson Humanitate, in the spirit of Wake Forest University’s DESIGNERS motto and guiding principle. Jill Carson Julie Helsabeck Yet that is not easy in a world Kris Hendershott of intractable problems. Where does one find a place to stand, a place of leverage PHOTOGRAPHER from which one can begin to speak and act and make a difference? Ken Bennett STUDENT INTERN What we need, more than ever, is understanding; and that can only come through Amber Burton (’15) serious study and engaged inquiry. We need firmer grounding in history and the PRINTING social sciences, literature and the arts, religion and philosophy, science and The Lane Press, Inc. economics. We need greater understanding of ourselves and our own assumptions and beliefs. We need empathy to understand the convictions of others and communication skills to engage them with civility. Wake Forest University Magazine (ISSN 0279- 3946) is published three times a year in the Spring, To understand more fully will liberate us to act more wisely. Summer and Fall by Wake Forest University, P.O. Box 7227, Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7227. It is sent to alumni, donors and friends of the University. Because poverty still afflicts our neighbors and hunger roars in the stomachs of our cities’ children; because injustices persist and hopelessness afflicts our [email protected] magazine.wfu.edu communities; because sickness is corralled by no boundary; because conflict twitter.com/wfumagazine derails relationships and a peaceful world seems evasive – for all of these reasons, facebook.com/wakeforestmagazine instagram.com/wakeforestmagazine we must commit to pursuing a greater understanding of ourselves and each other. Only then can we begin to focus on the complexities at our doorstep. Send address changes or cancellation requests to: Wake Forest Magazine Alumni Records P.O. Box 7227 A commitment to learning offers the promise of new intellectual discoveries and Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7227 the joy of extraordinary relationships. Perhaps we all can have one simple hope for [email protected] this year: to grow in understanding. 1.800.752.8567 © 2015 This issue of Wake Forest Magazine provides examples of alumni who have pursued their passion for learning from Native American reservations to the deserts of Iraq. It offers the latest chapter in an extraordinary relationship between baseball coach Tom Walter and senior Kevin Jordan. It celebrates the spirit of innovation as we mark the 10th year of our entrepreneurship program. And as the interview with senior John Marbach shows, our sense of community is as cherished as home. Enjoy. ON THE COVER Warm regards, Senior John Marbach Photo by Heather Evans Smith 2 WAKE FOREST MAGAZINE FEATURES WHY C A M E BACK Senior John Marbach dropped out for $100,000 but returned to dorm life. BY MARIA HENSON (’82) PHOTOGRAPHY BY HEATHER EVANS SMITH SPRING 2015 3 , JOHNa computer MARBACH science major from Belle Mead, New Jersey, entered Wake Forest as a freshman in the fall of 2011 already an entrepreneur. He had created and sold a vacation-rental website for his parents his first year in high school. He attended Wake Forest for one semester, withdrawing to accept an appointment to the inaugural class of the 20 Under 20 Thiel Fellowship. PayPal co-founder and Facebook investor Peter Thiel created the highly competitive two-year fellowships, according to his foundation, to encourage fellows to “pursue in- novative scientific and technical projects, learn entrepreneurship and begin to build the technology companies of tomorrow.” The fellowship made news in part for encouraging teens to skip college or drop out. Marbach left the University for a year during which he worked on his business ideas in Silicon Valley and New York City. He returned to Wake Forest in January 2013, leaving the second half of his fellowship money — $50,000 — on the table. He spoke to Maria Hen- son (’82) about his journey. The following are edited, condensed excerpts. MH: Describe what happened. JM: I applied early decision and I got deferred, so I wasn’t sure how things were going to work out. I got into Wake the weekend I was going out to San Francisco to apply for this fellowship. I was in a pickle — between both worlds. I really wanted to get this fellowship, but I just got accepted to Wake. At that point I knew things were going to work out no matter what, and that made me happy. I was here for a semester, and I enjoyed it. There probably wouldn’t have been a natural inclination to leave if it weren’t for the fellowship, but that’s the whole point of the fellow- ship — to encourage people to leave and try something new and take a risk. 4 WAKE FOREST MAGAZINE FEATURES John Marbach hangs out with friends and fellow seniors (left to right) David Hughes, Lindsay Hudson Ortyn and Nikolai Hlebowitsh. His shirt says “I love Beijing” in Mandarin. SPRING 2015 5 MH: Did you really believe you would be back at Wake investors and said, “Hey, I want to go back to college full- Forest someday? time,” they said, “Let me introduce you to people who will talk about where they went to college,” and I said, “No, I JM: My intuition was focused on trying to make the most want to go back to Wake.” of my fellowship and trying to make a company that would change the world. In my head the thought was “I can come MH: What did you learn from being a college dropout back here whenever I want. The door will be open.” and a fellowship dropout? MH: Almost like a college athlete who leaves for the NBA? JM: Mainly the things I learned are that things are so impermanent in life. Things you take for granted here like JM: Yes, it’s the same thing, except we don’t hear that living in a dorm with a bunch of people or having access many stories outside of sports. That’s the problem. Drop- to great food, being around all your friends all the time, ping out is romanticized in two ways — the tech entrepre- access to professors, et cetera, you just take that for grant- neur who has this awesome startup or an awesome funding ed. And when you’re in the real world, you have to fight opportunity or the professional athlete like LeBron James, for everything just starting out. It’s really hard to create who didn’t even go to college; or Chris Paul, who dropped your own peer group when you’re not in a setting that has out, or Tiger Woods, who dropped out. serendipity and proximity to people. MH: In Silicon Valley you participated in Y Combinator. Even just coming to college. In general, most people Talk about that. don’t have access to a great college like Wake Forest. Not everyone has to go to college. Dropping out of college I JM: They’re the top seed firm in Silicon Valley. They learned there are alternatives. You can do things without funded AirBnb, Reddit, Dropbox. It was very incredible to college. College is a great place for some people to grow be around the smartest people in the world in my opin- and expand their mind and their relationships and ion.