The degree was previously only offered to College of Adult and Professional Program (CAPP) students.

Dr. Aisha Williams, program director, and Dr. Elaine Barclay, human services professor, are the sole human services professors for CAPP and now traditional. Both Williams and Barclay have advanced degrees in human services as well as counseling.

Williams’ goal is to get 30 to 40 students to declare majors in the program. Within three weeks after the announcement of the degree, the two professors had one major declaration and one minor declaration. The interest students are already showing is making Williams’ goal appear more feasible.

“I have extremely high hopes for traditional student involvement in the program. I fully envision the program thriving under the traditional side,” Williams said.

Senior natural sciences major Madelyn Anderson thinks the new major may be the answer to some students’ career needs.

“The degree being offered to traditional students is beneficial to those that are looking to help people on the emotional side rather than the strictly medical side of healthcare,” Anderson said. “I’ve heard students talk about wanting to help people through life, but have no interest in the medical field.”

The human services industry itself is on the rise.

Per the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the human services field will grow by 11 percent between 2014 and 2024.

With more jobs becoming available in the field, more students who choose to claim human services as their degree will have an easier time finding a job out of college.

Williams and Barclay have promised to help their traditional students adapt to the differences in this type of degree, in addition to adapting themselves as there will be some differences between the traditional program and CAPP.

Because traditional students will take the course in 16 weeks, they will get more time to stretch the same curriculum and content that CAPP students squish into eight weeks. Barclay and Williams believe the traditional students will most likely benefit more from the program due to the extra time they get to understand and practice the material, especially with the guidance from their professors.

Barclay especially wants to focus on guiding the new students through the seriousness of the field as she has already done with CAPP students through providing counseling as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).

She believes strongly that a career in human services is more than just a career. She said the degree can give students something to leave the university with besides a piece of paper.

“I want the students to leave with confidence in their calling and purpose, not just a degree. They will be confident in how to use their God-given gifts to help others,” Barclay said.

Rachael Minard
Staff Writer
rachael.minard@hawks.shorter.edu

Antonino and Adal will both be participating in the May 5, 2017, graduation ceremony at SU. Antonio is receiving his master’s degree in business administration, and Adal is receiving a bachelor’s degree in human services. The two say the accomplishments is something they’ve worked hard for and anticipate.

Both Adal and Antonio are currently full-time, online students. They both found the online classes to fit perfectly around their schedules, which pushed them to stay on top of their work. Though they’ve been students together, they chose different degree paths to suit their callings.

“The reason I chose MBA was because I want to graduate with a degree that could lead to quick employment. The demands for business graduates are high,” Antonio said.

Adal had originally enrolled in classes for social work when she was younger, but she delayed her education so that she could raise her son.

After Antonio started college courses and began his bachelor’s degree, Adal said God told her that it was time for her to return to school and finish what she had started years earlier. She enrolled in the Georgia Military School online program and received her associate degree in social work in 2014. That same year Antonio graduated from Georgia Southern University with a general education degree and began work right away.

Not long after, both Antonio and Adal decided they wanted more education and needed to secure their future.

Adal started looking for programs, and with her advisor’s help, she came across Shorter University.

After reviewing what Shorter had to offer, Adal knew she found the Christian values, professors and classes she had been looking for.

Shorter’s human services degree caught her attention, and it was the perfect fit for her interests.

Adal thought the option to study online would work best for Antonio as well.

Though Antonio started school one year prior to his mother, they will still graduate and walk together.

With Adal’s degree, she hopes to run her own transitional house to help those in need. She feels God has called her to do this work, and she will most likely pursue her master’s in social work/human services.

The Bells believe they can achieve anything when they work together.

Their family has completely supported each other every step of the way.

“I do believe that attending the same college together has indeed brought us closer together. When classes got a little intense, we could draw support from one another by saying hang on in there, you can do it, it will pay off in the end,” Adal said.

Antonio is Adal’s only child and she is honored to share this experience of walking with him at graduation. The May 5 graduation will be the Bells’ first time being near Shorter’s campus.

“It has been a challenging but fun experience for us. The classes and professors are amazing and we both love Shorter,” Adal said.

Erica Ray
Staff Writer
erica.ray@hawks.shorter.edu

Womack knew something was wrong when everyday tasks became harder. She worked a part-time job and commuted to school but felt fatigued and less efficient.

It wasn’t until she went to the doctor for a physical before she started nursing school that she realized something was wrong. Womack had blood drawn, but it took the doctor a while to get the results. The doctor soon sent her blood work to Emory Hospital.

“That’s when they started figuring everything out,” Womack said. “My blood counts were sort of in the critical range and showed why I was so fatigued, and I didn’t have the energy that I felt like I should have.”

Womack, 20, remained in the Brady School of Nursing for three months until she decided to withdraw to focus on her health because she wasn’t performing at her preferred level.

“I think I was so tired and so rundown that I wasn’t able to study as much as I should or do the things required to excel in nursing school,” Womack said.

The pre-nursing major discovered she had the rare disease a few weeks later while at an appointment at Emory with her family and team of doctors.  Womack said she and her family were shocked yet relieved that they finally had a diagnosis after months of having unanswered questions.

The next step for Womack and her family was finding a bone marrow transplant match. Womack’s Emory transplant team partners with Be The Match, an organization geared to help individuals diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma and other life-threatening diseases find a bone marrow or blood transplant match.

Be The Match held a donor drive for Kendall in Cartersville, Ga., on Jan. 28. Rod Gunn, account executive for the National Marrow Donor Program, said 444 people registered at Womack’s drive in three hours, which is above average for a normal drive. Bone marrow drives usually register 40-50 people.

“One of the most successful drives we’ve had in the state of Georgia,” Gunn said. “When you register 444 people, that’s just outstanding.”

Womack’s match was found three months after her first drive, but she doesn’t know who the donor is. She only knows that the donor is a 30-year-old male. More information will be released about the donor a year after the transplant.

“They [doctors] said it could take anywhere from three months to six months, and some people wait a year and some people wait many years; multiple years to find a match,” Womack said. “That’s pretty great timing to find a match.”

Be The Match also planned a marrow donor drive on campus for March 28 before Womack found her match, but Womack wanted to continue with the drive to spread awareness and possibly help someone else find a match.

“It was so great,” Nurse Mary Shotwell Smith, student health services director, said. “It was a big success.”

Womack’s donor will undergo a series of tests and procedures as he prepares to save Womack’s life. He will give a blood sample and have a physical examination to confirm that he is the best match for Womack. The donor will then have a consultation with the transplant center that will be collecting his marrow so that they can explain the procedure.

Womack is also grateful for her family, friends and Shorter peers for helping and supporting her throughout her journey. She believes their support has made a difference in her life.

“I feel that the Lord has given me peace about this process,” Womack said. “He’s been with me every step of the way, and I know He’s not going to leave me at this point.”

Caleb Britt
Guest Writer
caleb.britt@hawks.shorter.edu

To know her is to love her, but to get to know her is just as better. Kemoy Anderson is more than just a student-athlete at Shorter University. The track and field athlete is redefining what it means to be a dark skin woman while standing against society’s beauty standard.

The 20-year-old Newnan, Ga., native has overcome the hardships of bullying and lack of self-confidence in hopes of reaching a career to uplift those facing similar circumstances. Through the support of her mother and the guidance of God she believes that she can prevail through all of life’s hardships. Here, she talks about the misconception people have towards dark skin women, how she has had to overcome the pressures of being a dark skin woman and what she wants to say to young dark skin women.

How are you able to overcome the pressures and anxieties regarding being a dark skin woman in a typically white woman dominated environment?

I tell myself that I am my own person and that God created me the way I am for a reason. Being a dark skin woman is especially hard because it seems like now days everyone wants to be black until you actually have to be black. There are times where I think to myself well ‘I wish this was better about me or that I didn’t do that as much,’ but I know that pressure builds diamonds and someday I’m going to sprout into a more beautiful diamond than I already am. (LOL)

Who or what motivates you to embrace your beauty?

My mom is by far the one who motivates me! She taught me early to love myself, especially when others couldn’t see me for my beauty. Throughout all of my life it has mostly just been me and her and she taught me the importance of self-love and how to stand on my own two feet. This has really helped me in track especially when I got hurt because it taught me that I shouldn’t lean on my troubled thoughts but that I should look back on what my mom had raised me to believe.

Do you ever find yourself comparing your beauty to that of celebrities such the Kardashians?

Of course not! Haha nothing about them is real. They have a beautifully family, but none of that matters when you’re living a miserable life and you can tell they are miserable by how they look when they are all together. I am Kemoy and Kemoy alone. I don’t compare myself to no man and especially no other woman.

What are some things you wish you tell yourself in order to stay committed?

 I tell myself that better days are coming and that one day I will be helping so many babies with a career as a pediatric anesthesiologist. My overall goal in life has been to help people and to give back. Mixed with my love for science and giving back, it is a great reminder to keep going. I hope that by using my platform in the future, I can help everyone to some degree.

What are some beauty standards that you think society implements on women of color specifically dark skin women?

I think it’s the idea that we need to resemble our light skin counterparts. Our eyes should be lighter instead of darker, our hair should not be short or “rough” but instead it should long and curly. It’s a sad to say that a lot of the hate doesn’t even come from white people, but a lot of the times it comes from members of our own community. Every way you can think a woman of color should be they (society) thinks otherwise.

 Why do you think society has such a negative connotation of dark skin women?

The negative image of black women started long ago and has stuck ever since. Even though the year is 2017, people still try and label us all the same and that’s not right. No matter if someone is prettier than someone else or smarter than someone else, no one has the right to determine someone based on how they perceive them without knowing them.

What are some things you wish you could tell younger dark skin girls?

You are all queens!! There are no exclusions in my eyes. As someone who was bullied and still to this day goes through some troubling times, I think it’s high time we start encouraging one another rather than tearing each other down. When you feel yourself getting down, just remember that you are uniquely made.

The recent ticketing campaign leaves concerns for students who feel it is still a long walk to the main buildings, especially when they need to use the library or computer labs. Bass residents are making the argument that on afternoons when school has ended, there are numerous available spots in commuter lots.

In response, sophomore music major Becky Fowler created an online petition in hopes of solving the parking problem. Fowler is not a resident in Bass, but she has many friends that reside there and she has heard their complaints.

“I have never done anything like this and I have always been a rule follower, but this particular problem needed to be addressed and needed someone to address it,” Fowler said.

The petition was created near the end of January, and many Shorter alumni, current students and students from other schools have signed their names. The petition is currently at 89 signatures, 11 shy of the 100 required to reach administration.

On the petition’s website, change.org, students are allowed to offer reasons for signing the petition. Several current and former Bass residents chimed in with their perspective.

“It is dangerous for Bass residents to walk from the apartment dorms to the school, given the fact that there is no sidewalk, (there are) hazardous weather conditions, and (there is) the physical strain that carrying an up to 30 lb. backpack/school supplies can create,” student Anna Wilfong said.

An anonymous student, who signed the petition as A.H., decided to move from Bass to another dorm next year because of the parking difficulties.

“I used to live in Bass, but it was such an inconvenient dorm based on transportation. Please help make Shorter transportation better for the sake of your students,” A.H. said.

Campus safety has already received several complaints from Bass residents, but as of right now they are not changing the designated parking spots for students.

Campus Safety Director Paula Penson is aware of the petition, which is why the email was sent that Bass residents could park in the gravel lot. People parking in the gravel lot this semester, however, is a trial run. Campus safety is monitoring parking in the area.

“At the beginning of the school year, cars must park in the color-coded lots,” Penson said.

Fowler, who is concerned that she will most likely live in Bass as an upperclassman, a does not want to undergo the same issues students are having now.

Though campus safety’s email states the residents can now park in the gravel lot, Fowler pointed out that if there are events at Shorter and the gravel lot is full, Bass residents would then have nowhere to park.

The shuttles have been used to combat the parking issue. The shuttles run from 6 a.m. to the late afternoon, and one shuttle runs until 9:30 p.m.

Fowler also said the shuttles do not run early enough or late enough to help these students. Athletes must be at practice early in the morning while theatre students don’t leave rehearsal until late at night. She believes the shuttles could run more often, aiding those students.

Penson also shared that campus safety cannot give Bass residents the commuter lots since the adult night program needs them. The night classes recently moved from the business school to the hill, and they use the lots in the evenings.

The commuter lots also need to stay open for events. If Bass residents occupy the commuter space, then families and friends will have no place to park.

With these concerns, Penson said she cannot favor one petition over the other. As of right now, if anyone parks in a spot that is not designated to them they will receive a ticket. Parking tickets can cost anywhere from $25 to $75.

Penson urges anyone who has suggestions or concerns to come speak with her.

Erica Ray
Staff Writer
erica.ray@hawks.shorter.edu

She walks in the bathroom and looks into her new best friend – her full-sized mirror. She admires the “new Tracy” who’s wearing the 5X batman shirt that now fits her like a nightgown.

Before she walks into the shower, she steps on the scale and sees that she’s lost another 10 pounds. Afterward, she puts on her makeup and clothes, ties her shoes and celebrates finally being able to tie them again. It’s one of many celebrations she has now.

Johnson, administrative assistant to the vice president of advancement and dean of Shorter University’s College of Business, now celebrates “the little things” that most people take for granted. Fitting into movie theater seats, Six Flags rides, baseball game seats and restaurant booths. Walking long distances without worry about her legs giving out. Strapping her seatbelt and helping her mother with daily tasks.

On this morning, she grabs her protein bar and leaves for work in her 2006 Suzuki Hatchback. When she exits, she’s relieved that her car no longer has to carry a 405-pound Johnson and that her stomach no longer mashes the horn.

Johnson began to have weight problems when she was 4 years old. She experienced bullying and name calling as she went through elementary school but didn’t think much of it.

“I would be upset about it,” Johnson said. “I just realized kids are mean, so I just brushed it off.”

The bullying and name calling didn’t stop when Johnson entered high school. Actually, it bothered her even more. Johnson didn’t go on dates and attend social events because no one asked her to go.

“They [boys] wouldn’t look past the exterior to pay attention to what’s in the inside,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s mother Mary Johnson saw Johnson struggle with her weight since she was a toddler but believed that she would lose weight in her teenage years. Mary blames Johnson’s weight struggles partly on her own and her late husband’s income and diets then.

“To see a child be rejected, be heartbroken because of their weight; it just breaks your heart,” Mary said. “You just wish you could take their place. So, you keep hoping and praying that someday they’ll lose the weight.”

Most of Johnson’s weight gain happened after her 1994 divorce when she weighed 240 pounds. During that time, she was upset, depressed and didn’t care. Johnson considered herself an emotional eater who relied on food to comfort her.

“It finally got to a point where I was like ‘Oh my goodness, how did all this weight get on me,’” Johnson said.

Johnson attributes her constant weight gain partly to her negative self-image of never feeling like she was enough though her Christian upbringing taught her to believe she was. She also felt like a failure because of the way people treated her.

“I started believing the negative more over what God told me,” Johnson said. “Words are powerful, and words are something you can’t ever forget.”

Johnson’s friend of 21 years Kraylon Dunkin agrees that Johnson’s physical changes sometimes mirrored her emotional changes. She also believes Johnson’s biggest struggle was forgiving herself.

“She had a harder time forgiving herself than anyone else,” Dunkin said.

Johnson, who reached her heaviest weight in 2014 at 405 pounds, knew her lifestyle had to change and that she was headed toward the same obesity, heart disease, diabetes and depression path many of her family members had traveled, including her father who passed away Jan. 15, 2014.

“I basically had no life. I was existing,” Johnson said.

When Johnson began working at Shorter in January 2015, friend Allison Schultz encouraged her to pursue bariatric surgery. Johnson consulted with her doctor, discovered the steps to take with her insurance company and completed a consecutive six-month weight loss plan with her doctor to prove she was serious about the surgery.

Although she looked forward to having the surgery, she faced opposition from people believing the surgery was a “cop out” or that it would change her personality. Some said she should live with the fact that she would always be fat.

“People just don’t understand that the surgery is just a tool,” Johnson said.

Dec. 16, 2015, marked a nerve-wracking and exciting day for Johnson. When she began to see her weight decline, she knew she made the right decision.

Today, Johnson has lost 133 pounds and aims to lose 115 more. She has kept the weight off through a consistent eating regiment including a protein shake or a bar for breakfast and lunch, a protein bar or raw broccoli with dip for a snack and grilled chicken with a vegetable or a starch for dinner. In addition, she does cardio and lifts weights at the gym.

“I still have a long way to go, but I’m not turning back.”

Johnson believes she couldn’t have done anything without God’s help and strength. In times of doubt and despair, she remembers Philippians 4:13 …“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

She tries to inspire others by sharing her weight loss journey through before and after pictures, Bible verses, inspirational/light-hearted posts and advice on Facebook. The post that accompanies one before picture reads: “That miserable person is gone! The only good thing about this picture is my hair. Lol.”

“I just let them know that if I can do this, you can do this,” Johnson said.

Johnson’s co-worker Dr. Dawn Tolbert has been inspired by Johnson’s commitment.

“It helps me make better decisions seeing how committed she is,” Tolbert said.

With the weight loss, Johnson envisions herself walking down the aisle again to the man of her dreams in a “little” white dress, going on a hot air balloon ride and riding on a horse.

“I think just the possibilities for what my future holds are endless,” Johnson said.

Caleb Britt
Guest Writer
caleb.britt@hawks.shorter.edu

As the spring semester starts, the girls of Phi Mu Fraternity are getting ready for another spring recruitment. The process of recruitment is one that sorority girls throughout the states experience.

Recruitment is held twice a year, once in the fall and again in the spring. Recruitment parties are held the same way at every school. It is the best way for potential members to learn the ideas of Phi Mu.

The process consists of sorority members throwing a party for any full-time freshman to any senior female student. Potential members will get to chat with the sisters of Phi Mu.

Sophomore nursing major Taylor Carroll from Trion is heading this year’s spring recruitment. She has been preparing for the party since Christmas break.

“The girls of Phi Mu and I are so excited for spring recruitment,” Carroll said. “A lot of hard work has been put into it, and I cannot wait to see it all finally come together. I hope everyone comes and hangs out with me and my favorite girls.”

For some members of the sorority, recruitment is a first-time experience. The newly inducted freshman members are looking forward to being on the other end of recruitment.

Emily Cheek, a freshman psychology major from Cartersville, is one of those members.

“I know that I was really nervous last semester during recruitment, but the girls of Phi Mu made me feel so welcomed and I hope to do the same for the new potential members,” Cheek said.

For graduating members, the recruitment party is a bittersweet moment. Spring recruitment is the last opportunity they will have to soak in the memories of being a newly accepted member.

Senior political science major Megan Faulkner has been involved with Phi Mu for three years while serving on its executive board for two years.

“It seems just like yesterday I was going through spring recruitment myself,” Faulkner said. “It was such an exciting and humbling experience. Now, it’s almost two years later, and I am recruiting for the vey last time. I cannot wait to welcome all our new Phi Mu girls.”

Stella Parker
Staff Writer
stella.parker@hawks.shorter.edu

It was a fall day in 1991 on what now seems like an ancient Shorter campus. The streets were lined with college students who had come for a street dance happening between the Sheffield-Thompson building and Roberts Hall.

“The school was a liberal arts school so the feel of the school was quite different than it is today,” said Shorter alumna Christy Deloach (Slade), who met her future husband Donnie Slade at that fall dance.

Twenty-six years later, student Taylor Slade has continued in the footsteps of her parents by meeting someone special at  Shorter.

“We met in FSU one night my freshman year,” Taylor said when describing the time she met student Austin Weller, who is now her boyfriend.

Since then, Weller and Slade have formed a relationship that resembles her parents’ journey 26 years ago.

The Slade family is an example of two sequential generations of Shorter students who found love on this campus.

Donnie was a Rome local who “was recruited to play baseball for Shorter in 1990,” Christy said. She “transferred from Macon College in January of 1991 to study vocal performance.”

According to Christy, there are multiple similarities between the two generations of couples. Both couples have strong faiths and have grown in their relationship with God through their time together and at Shorter. After meeting, both couples waited a few months before dating while still remaining in each other’s lives as friends.

“One memory we love looking back on is one night all of our friends went out after midnight and played “Sardines” around campus and we got partnered up,” Taylor said.

According to national statistics, college is where many females hope to meet their mate.

Taylor is one of at least two women in this statistic. But she didn’t come to Shorter expecting to find love like her parents had.

“Absolutely not. I had a boyfriend coming into Shorter so I never expected to find someone else, but it has been the most incredible opportunity. I love doing life with him!”

So, in a society that is ripe with failed relationships, is the Slade family the exception or the rule of college relationship ventures?
According to an article on Elite Daily titled “Why Relationships in Your 20s Won’t Last,” an individual’s 20’s – especially their college years – are a time for growing and developing oneself as a person. Furthermore, one’s 20s should be devoted to choosing a career path, maintaining an active social life, and coming into your own.

But the Slades are proof that you are able to have both — a journey of finding  out who you are as a person while growing with your significant other.

They are also elated that Taylor was able to find someone special at Shorter.

“We approve and wish God would open doors for them to speak and teach other students some key things to have in a dating relationship,” Christy said. “Their dating relationship is one that is so rare these days … the boundaries they have set and commitment they have to honor God in their relationship …”

Christy Slade says the relationship between Austin and Taylor is a lot like her relationship with Donnie, especially in the way that they enjoy being around each other.

“If you are around Austin and Taylor for very long, you will see this playfulness they have toward each other. It’s adorable to watch.”

Though Donnie and Christy Slade are among the fortunate few who meet their life partners in college, the Slades do not endorse abandoning your purpose for being in college to find a mate.

“Don’t go looking for love … Trust God to bring who He wants in your life. Don’t compromise for anyone. Always be who God made you to be. The right person will see the real you and will love you even with all your quirks.”

According to the Slades, respect for one another is one of the keys of a lasting relationship.

They advise college students who are falling in love to respect each other’s convictions and respect each other’s space.

Most importantly, they say to find your fulfillment in God and not in the other person.

“Don’t depend on the other person to meet all your emotional needs,” Christy said. “That’s God’s job. Honor their heart by listening to them…Be proactive in showing kindness and gentleness to them and laugh a lot.”

The Slades will celebrate  25 years of marriage this year on April 16. They hope that their marriage can be an example to others. Taylor, for one, holds on to many of their life lessons.

“Don’t do the worldly dating path,” Taylor said. “Put Jesus first and then your significant other second and be obedient to the Lord within the relationship.”