Class Notes

On June 16, 2016 Nancy Leisering Hayes ’81 was presented with the Council of Organizations Serving Deaf Alabamians (COSDA) Interpreter Award. This award recognizes an interpreter who has demonstrated a commitment to the field of interpreting, the development of the interpreting profession and professionals, and demonstrates respect for and encouragement of current practitioners and consumers. Fellow MC alumna, Katherine Anderson ’11 also won the award at this time.

The Trust Company of Tennessee has hired Bethany Headrick as business analyst, based in the firm’s Knoxville office.

Headrick is a graduate of Maryville College (2017). She resides in Maryville.

wrote to tell us that he “has been working 31 years with special needs students in Citrus County FL. 30 years married to a Maryville graduate (Dottie Carson Heinze ’84). Thanks MC.”

writes in to share, “I have pleasantly retired from the Disability Determination Divisions in South Carolina and Georgia. More time for gardening, reading, and enjoying my grandchildren, Nick and Chloe!”

When Haiti re-opens after COVID 19, Keith Henderson (’78) and I will return to begin our 4th year as Directors at the Haiti Deaf Academy. We serve 50 Deaf children. Most come to HDA with little or no language. After language acquisition, our next goal is to share the good news of the gospel and then prepare them to live productive lives in Haiti.

Meredith Thompson Henderson ’78 and husband Keith Henderson ’78 are Directors of the Haiti Deaf Academy. They live in Haiti 9 months each year. They will return to the U.S. in August, at Christmas break, and Easter break when the deaf students return home for their school breaks. She says her experience as a certified interpreter has helped prepare her for this opportunity. Read more about HDA here: www.haitideafacademy.com <http://www.haitideafacademy.com>.

writes in to share that she is still enjoying life. Living and well, but finally retired from both public health nursing and teaching.

Earned M.A. in Experimental psychology from UT-Knoxville in May 2013. Currently enrolled in the Ph.D. program with an anticipated graduation date of summer 2015. Also involved with AKC dog shows and owner of nationally ranked Bernese Mountain Dog Bear-Acres The Wonder of Glory, CGC, TDI. Wonder is a recent Working Group 4 winner and is currently the #12 Bernese in America in all-breed points.

Elaine received a Ph.D. in Experimental psychology (biological concentration) from UTK in August 2016. Her dissertation explored the effects of using certified therapy dogs to reduce stress and anxiety and increase learning in Spanish second language classes. Elaine’s Bernese Mountain Dog, Wonder, was integral to the study and to all of her doctoral and master’s research. Additionally, Wonder is an AKC show dog who won a 5 point major in July 2016 and was previously ranked as the #15 Bernese in America. A new Bernese puppy, Icelyn, joined Elaine and Wonder’s home in May 2018.

Chante and her husband, Matt, have adopted 5 children through foster care. They have two children through guardianship. Chante works as the Assistant Branch Directory at Bethany Christian Services in Knoxville.

writes in to share that he and Teresa are working part-time out of our motorhome, traveling the southeast. They work with RV Resorts, producing their Guest Guides for their visitors through a wonderful company, Southeast Publications. In four years time, they have gone from rookies to only the third team in company’s 30 year history to achieve their top level, the Presidents Club with $300K+ in sales. They are blessed with wonderful resorts in tremendous tourism areas across Florida, and markets like Nashville, the Smoky Mountains region, Cape May (NJ) and Hilton Head. They travel 7-8 months a year, working a few hours a day meeting local businesses, many of which are now good friends.

Captain of the 2009 team, will return to the Fighting Scots as an assistant coach for men’s basketball coach Randy Lambert. Hernandez earned All-Great South Athletic Conference honors as a post presence in his sophomore and junior seasons. In his senior season, he was named the GSAC Player of the Year and was named an All-American by NABC. Hernandez has been playing professionally in England the past three seasons. “It’s great to have Greg back on campus,” said Lambert, who is entering his 34th season as coach at Maryville, in a school release. “The qualities he demonstrated as a player in our program should make him a good coach. I know he will work and I know he understands the game, especially the post position. We are going to spend the summer deciding on his responsibilities. He will definitely head up our recruiting efforts, coach our big guys in practice, and serve as our video coordinator. As we move through the camp season and I have an opportunity to watch him teach and interact with young players, I will continue to give him additional responsibilities. He is a young man of high character and is extremely motivated to make it as a coach. I am glad that he has decided to join us.” Hernandez replaces Alex Bowers who was named boys’ coach at Catholic High School.

completed the nationally highly competitive School to Work Program at the Video Relay Interpreting Institute in spring 2014. He works as a video relay interpreter with Sorenson Video Relay in New York, previously interpreted with Knoxville Center of the Deaf, and has interpreted in a local TN school system. He moved in fall 2014 to New York state and is working interpreting for Empire Interpreting Service, A la Orden in Syracuse. He works among the languages of spoken English, Spanish, American Sign Language and English sign forms. His majors at MC were: AEI and Spanish.

Deb and I are were almost empty nesters!! Our youngest has gotten her MSW from UPENN and has moved back in for a while to help kill some student debt (at what she owes, I could have gone to Maryville 3 times back in the day!!! We miss everyone and maybe, just maybe, we can get back there soon. I hear the mountains calling!

Completed her Master’s of Business Administration from East Tennessee State University in September, 2018.

Rachel graduated in 2022 from University of Tennessee – Chattanooga with a Masters of Social Work. She is currently a video relay Sign Language Interpreter.

finished an MBA -magnum cum laude at Penn State 2013. Nathan has started a Ph.D. in business at Oklahoma State. Nathan is focusing his research of diversity acx discrimination in the workplace. His company is celebrating 10 years in 2014

In response to the tragic wildfires that affected Gatlinburg, TN and the surrounding area, Nathan Higdon participated in service efforts as documented in this Daily Times article: Posted: Tuesday, November 29, 2016 6:00 pm Before the sun rose Tuesday, Nathan Higdon of Maryville had made sausage biscuits – for some 2,000 people. That was only one of the ways Higdon helped firefighters, first responders and those who evacuated late Monday as wildfires from the Chimney Tops in Great Smoky Mountains National Park tore through Gatlinburg and down the Spur into Pigeon Forge. “I just felt compelled to go up there,” Higdon told The Daily Times after he returned home to Maryville just before noon Tuesday. “I would hope people would do this for us if it happened here.” At his housemate’s suggestion, Higdon posted an update to Facebook late Monday, telling his online friends that he would head to the store to get supplies for firefighters and evacuees. “They need bottled water, Gatorade-type drinks, energy-type bars, wool socks, lip balm, gloves and AA batteries for the firefighter helmets,” he wrote at 11:18 p.m. Monday. “If you want to help but can’t get stuff out there due to work, either drop it off on my porch or leave money for me to pick up for you.” By 3 a.m. Higdon was headed toward Sevier County with some $800 worth of supplies including 5,000 bottles of water, 300 Cliff bars (a “crowd favorite,” he said), 25 pairs of wool socks, 100 packs of baby wipes, 50 gallons of orange juice, and “lots” of batteries. Higdon stopped first at the Red Cross’ shelter at the Pigeon Forge Community Center. “There were a lot of folks getting tucked in, getting to sleep,” he said of the evacuees. “I helped give them water.” Higdon then was directed by the Red Cross to First Baptist Church in Sevierville, where he helped a crew of volunteers make sausage biscuits for the evacuees. “We just made breakfast for 2,000 people in two hours,” he posted to Facebook at 6:50 a.m. Tuesday. “We’ll start serving breakfast at 8. Most folks are just now waking up. The tourists are dazed. The locals are in shock.” Then it was off to the Red Cross shelter at LeConte Events Center. “The phones would ring, and we’d go wherever we were needed, anywhere extra hands would be helpful,” Higdon said. And it wasn’t just helping hands that the evacuees needed, he added. Higdon offered his “ear, shoulder and smile to frightened folks who just needed to talk, vent or cry,” he wrote in a Facebook update. Fresh faces were arriving to help as Higdon was heading back to Maryville on Tuesday. “I do recommend waiting to come up,” he wrote on Facebook. “These folks are going to need help for weeks to come. “Don’t forget that about now the reality of the situation has set in for some folks,” Higdon added. “I stayed until I was no longer effective because I knew I had a bed to come home to … not everyone does up there.” From The Daily Times – Maryville, Tenn: http://www.thedailytimes.com/news/maryville-man-springs-into-action-helps-evacuees-overnight/article_fbf4c55f-dd4c-5361-95b3-34387db113b5.html?_dc=985697504976.4174

J. Nathan Higdon has completed his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Watson School of Management at Oklahoma State University. His dissertation was titled “Code-switching for work life self-preservation: A study of the role of sexual orientation discrimination on employee job behaviors and outcomes.”

On September 15, 2022 Nathan Higdon, class of 2003, was sworn in as the TNDP (Tennessee Democratic Party) State Executive Committeeman for the 2nd District. He ran unopposed on the August 4th ballot.

Denise Hinds, named today as one of New York City’s LGBTQ+ Power Players!

The write up below is an inspirational testament to the work that Denise leads both inside and outside of GSS.

Information on the full list of LGBTQ+ Power Players can be found at   https://politicsny.com/power-lists/lgbtq-power-players/page/10/

Denise Hinds – Chief Program Officer for Youth and Family Well-Being

Good Shepherd Services

Denise Hinds (she/her) is the chief program officer for youth and family well-being at Good Shepherd Services. In 35 years at Good Shepherd Services, she has been instrumental in developing innovative programs. For 10 years, Denise has led the LGBTQ workgroup in creating a culture of awareness, acceptance, and celebration. Denise works to ensure Good Shepherd is a welcoming place for all within the LGBTQ community. Denise is also on the board of Family Equality, a national organization championing the rights and needs of LGBTQ people to have families. She is the board chair of the Newark LGBTQ Community Center.

What is your favorite Pride Month event or celebration?

My favorite Pride month event is the DYKE March!! It’s one of the most exhilarating and uplifting events I participate in during Pride and one that energizes me as I continue on in this work. I especially love marching with other LGBTQIA+ people in an act of resistance rather than celebration as we continue to fight for the rights of LGBTQIA people everywhere. To me it’s a real demonstration of the strength and resilience of the community I love so much!!

What LGBTQ+ icons or activists have inspired you?

I am most inspired daily by the life of icon Audre Lorde. Since I first read her work in my thirties she has been a guiding force and inspiration in my life. Sharing similar backgrounds being children of Caribbean parents and growing up in NYC made it easy for me to identify with her, but the power of her words and the way she lived her life unapologetically black and queer is the main thing that inspires me. She talked about learning to be unafraid to speak her truth, which helped me to find my own voice in the world.

What can people and corporations do to support the LGBTQ+ community year-round, not just during Pride Month?

Everyone has a part to play. Our community is in a fight for our lives now more than ever. There seem to be forces working to ensure that LGBTQIA+ rights are stripped away. We need everyone to help us fight against this type of erasure. We need to make sure our lives and the lives of all within our LGBTQIA spectrum matter, and we need our allies and our friends more than ever to help us do that. It’s about speaking up and speaking out when- and wherever possible, not just waving a flag or wearing a rainbow shirt.

How can businesses create more inclusive environments for their employees and patrons?

Businesses can make environments more inclusive by making sure that everyone feels welcome. Ensuring that everyone can see themselves in their branding is one way. From the moment you walk in the door, it can be the very subtle things that help employees and patrons know this is a welcoming and safe space. Encouraging the use of pronouns sends a very important message to everyone that the way they identify themselves matters and is respected.

Linda Hinkle ’15 continues her service to veterans while graduating with her MSW in May 2018. In 2016, Linda started a group devoted to connecting female veterans on the UTK campus. Read more here: https://on.wbir.com/2G980Yq

Erika has accepted a position at Heritage High School as an English teach beginning fall 2018.

is recognized as one of the 2013 Greater Knoxville Business Journals’s 40 under 40 honorees. http://www.knoxnews.com/photos/2013/dec/18/419900/

Mike Hodges ’97 recently accepted the position of director of the Cleveland State Law Enforcement Training Academy. Hodges comes to this position from the chief of campus police at Cleveland State, and prior to being hired at CSCC, he was a P.O.S.T. (Peace Officers Standards and Training) certified police officer with 17 years of experience. His responsibilities have included patrol tactics, traffic accident investigation, preliminary investigations of both property crimes and crimes against persons, crime scene investigation, field training officer and departmental instructor in numerous areas. Hodges received his bachelor’s degree in history from Maryville College and his master’s degree in criminal justice from Bethel University. http://www.chattanoogan.com/2018/9/7/375764/Cleveland-State-Hires-New-Faculty-And.aspx