Clyde Cargill recently celebrated his 28^th wedding anniversary with his wife, Debra Huson, a Cal State Fresno. Cargill writes, “I retired in 2010 as chief of logistics programs, Department of the Army, with 33 years of service. During my government career, we lived in Germany, Korea, California and New Jersey.” Clyde and Debra currently reside in Lake Ridge, Virginia.

1981

Johnny Rumbough, director of missions of Lexington Association, was elected president of the Associational Directors of Missions for the Southern Baptist Convention. He has been a member of the CSU board of trustees and holds an honorary doctorate from CSU.  Johnny and his wife, Valerie, have grown children. Their son, Jason, is a 2001 CSU graduate.

1989

Michael Gunter has published his second book, Blackwell. His venture into the realm of fiction is a human drama about an extraterrestrial encounter. Combining elements of drama, humor and suspense, his realistic science fiction probes the depths of what it means to be truly human. In addition to writing, he speaks to groups and teaches about the craft of writing. Michael’s story, One of a Million Things, won third runner-up in the Colonnade Writing Contest at CJM Books and will be included in their 2012 anthology of short stories.  Michael and his wife, the former Tammi Bush ’92, and their family live in Richmond, Va. Blackwell is available in both print and e-reader versions. Look for it on Amazon.com or on Michael’s blog klyvian.com.

1991

Tonya Tate Houston has received a doctor of philosophy in educational administration from the University of South Carolina. She is an assistant principal at Northwood Academy in North Charleston.

1992

Freshman Stephanie Corvino is continuing the Corvino family tradition of attending CSU.  Mom, Michelle ’92, and dad, Scott ’90, are graduates. Other family members who have graduated from CSU are: David Corvino ’00, Michael Corvino ’10 and Gene Corvino ’04 MBA.

1993

Ansel Brown performed his song, When You Fly, before the final shuttle launched at the Kennedy Space Center this summer. He lives in Charlotte, N.C.

1997

Jennifer Whatley Govea, and her husband, Enrique, have a translation company and work with the Women’s Missionary Union and the North American Mission Board to translate resources into Spanish and other languages. NAMB’s quarterly magazine, On Mission, is available in English and Spanish, En Misión. They also work with North Point Ministries to translate Andy Stanley’s sermons and some small group material into other languages. Jennifer writes, “We moved to San José, Costa Rica, in August to create a church for Latin Americans. Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.” You can follow their ministry at thegoveagazette.blogspot.com.

Dr. Glenda Levin MEd, is the director of secondary schools for Berkeley County School District. She was most recently the principal of Hanahan High School.

Andrew Bell and his wife, Meghan, proudly announce the birth of their daughter, Gretchen Elise, born July 7. She was 7 lbs, 9 oz and 21 inches long. They live in Hanahan.

2000

William Parker has been elected to serve a two-year term as president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors-Charleston Chapter. He is a financial serves professional and agent for New York Life Insurance Company. A 2010 New York Life Executive Council member, he earned a Certified in Long-Term Care designation. He has been a member of the Medical University of South Carolina Foundation’s Advisory Council since 2009. He and his wife, Melissa, live in North Charleston.

2001

Andrea W. Balongo visited campus this summer. He is head, treasury marketing corporate and institutional sales for Kenya Commercial Bank Group. He provides hedging solution to manage foreign exchange risk for the group and its customers. He resides in Nairobi, Kenya, and wants to hear from former classmates at andreabalongo@yahoo.com. (Pictured with Lili Gresham, director of corporate relations at CSU and a former classmate)

Andre Dukes is associate principal at St. John’s High School in Charleston County. He attended a two-week Leadership Summit at Harvard University this summer. He is in the Principals for Tomorrow program for Charleston County School District and the S.C. Department of Education. He was the NFTE National Teacher of the Year in 2006-2007.

2003

David R. Weiss has been named South Carolina marketing representative for Southern Mutual Church Insurance Company in Columbia. He previously served more than five years as CSU’s director of alumni affairs and annual giving. He is a member of the CSU board of visitors and lives in Summerville with his wife, Stephanie, and son, Cameron, 2.

2004

Amy Dixon Watson and her husband, Thom Watson ’03 announce the birth of a son, Isaac Barton Watson, born Aug. 12. He weighed 7 lbs, 3 oz and was 19 ½ inches long. Amy and Thom were married May 22, 2010, and they live in Columbia.

2005

Jessica Brooke Davis and Charles “Chase” M. Mount II were married June 25 in Union, S.C. He is a dermatological pharmaceutical sales representative with PharmaDerm. They live in West Columbia.

2006

Danielle Baskin and Brian Waldron were married May 29, 2010 in Charleston. She earned her doctor of pharmacy degree from MUSC in 2010 and is now the oncology pharmacy resident at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. He is a 2005 Citadel graduate and is employed at BB&T as a commercial credit risk analyst. They live in Winston-Salem, N.C. Danielle received the Myrtle E. Hamrick Award at commencement in 2006.

Ashley DeRosa Fieber and her husband, Michael Fieber, announce the birth of their son, Brayden Fieber, born March 5. He weighed 8 lbs 8 oz and was 20 inches long. Ashley and Michael were married July 3, 2009, in St. Augustine, Fla. Ashley has been an AML compliance officer at Deutsche Bank in the Jacksonville, Fla., location since February 2009.

Carlaise Gadsden DeVeaux MBA, is a victim advocate with the Charleston Police Department, where she works with young women at Charleston Development Academy. Earlier this year she received the Dr. Sid Katz Award for Outstanding Service Provider from People Against Rape.

Spc. Christopher Freshman graduated from Army National Guard basic training Sept. 1 in Fort Benning, Ga. He is a police officer for the City of Charleston. The chaplain at Fort Benning was Jesse Adkinson ’08 MBA, and a member of the CSU religion faculty from 2004-2008.

2007

Anna Leigh Taylor and Cory Graham Alexander were married June 25 in Lugoff. She is a teacher for Richland II School District. They live in Elgin.

2009

Brittany Bolick, head soccer coach at Watauga High School in Boone, N.C., was named the Northwestern 3A/4A Conference Coach of the Year.

Madeleine Ruth Elson Fincher and Charles Tyler Davis were married Aug. 20 in Mount Pleasant. She works at Advanced Technology International and is working on her MBA at CSU. They live in Charleston.

Julia Frances Nigro and Paul Michael Vasquez were married Aug. 6 in Charleston. She works for Jackson & Hill in Mount Pleasant as an accountant. They live in Hanahan.

Sheryl Rector MBA, joined Honest-1 Auto Care in March. After a short time with Honest-1 she became the area representative for South Carolina. Honest-1 Auto Care is a full service auto repair franchise committed to taking environmentally sustainable actions. Rector writes, “This commitment to the environment has raised the standard for all auto repair businesses.”

Dorothy Elizabeth Wilkerson and Michael Chapin Merrill were married May 21 in Charleston. She is the choral teacher at Summerville Catholic School and a manager with Express Clothing in Northwoods Mall. They live on Johns Island.

2010

Ashleigh Newell and Michael Dockery, a Citadel graduate, were married Dec. 18, 2010. Ashleigh is a crime scene technician with Charleston Police Department and is back in school at CSU pursuing a master’s in criminal justice.  Michael is a 2^nd lieutenant in the Army National Guard and is working on his master’s degree in theology at Liberty.  They live in North Charleston.

2011

Elizabeth Bradley Bishop and Joseph Chance Ledford were married June 11 at Brookgreen Gardens. He is a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army and has served in Iraq.

Brittany Adele Williams and Christopher Travis Carter were married July 30 in Hemingway. She is employed by Georgetown County School District and is in youth and children’s ministry at Center Baptist Church. They live in Hemingway.

Dr. Ruby Matthews, age 85, died Sept. 15 in Charleston. She taught education and guidance for many years at CSU. She was a member of many educational groups and served as the international president of Delta Kappa Gamma form 1992-1994.

Dewey Johnson “Bud” Summers Jr. ’75, age 58, died July 16 in Charleston. He was the minister of education at First Baptist Church of Walterboro.

Marshall Harris Todd ’71, age 69, died June 26 in Newberry. He retired from the S.C. Law Enforcement Division.

Michael Stewart “Mickey” Whatley ’78, age 75, died Aug. 16 in North Charleston. He was a former chief of police of North Charleston and a former state legislator.

Daniel Bryant graduated in 2005 and is an art teacher for Dorchester School District 2. While at CSU Bryant created a cartoon drawing which has now evolved into Karate Dogs, a character building cartoon. “I came here, to CSU, as a seed. And as a seed I was watered, and I absorbed,” Bryant said. He in turn challenged the students to be seeds while at Charleston Southern so that they will become the people God wants them to be.

 As an R.N. at Roper St. Francis Hospital, 2008 graduate, Holly Branch Westbury, understands what it means to serve – it’s part of her job. However, recently she expanded her view of service when she asked herself, “How am I serving my coworkers and others I come in contact with?” 

Westbury encouraged the students, “We can serve God in any and all aspects of our lives. While at CSU I pray that you will take every opportunity to learn about new tools to serve Christ.”

When Joe Pye graduated in 1969 he knew he wanted to be the CEO of a bank. Six weeks after accepting a banking position, he resigned. “It just wasn’t for me,” he said.

The rest is history. Pye was encouraged to pursue education and moved from teaching positions to school principal then on to become district personnel director at Dorchester School District 2.  He then continued to advance to assistant superintendent and is now currently superintendent of Dorchester School District Two.

Pye accepted each new career challenge with an unassuming spirit, giving God the credit. “We need to cooperate with God,” Pye told the students. “We should constantly pray for God to take us where He wants us to go. If he opens the door, we need to go on in.”

L.C. Knight ’73, received the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year award. Knight is the

Sheriff of Dorchester County, a position he has held since 2009.

Prior to his election to Sheriff, he was a Dorchester County magistrate and held several positions in the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. After his son, Troy Knight, died, the Knight family created the Troy Knight Endowed Scholarship at CSU.

Knight is a member of the CSU Board of Visitors and is active in the community serving in the Summerville Exchange Club, Ancient and Accepted Masonic Lodge, member of Knightsville United Methodist Church, Summerville Boat Club, Kiwanis Club of Summerville, Omar Shrine Temple and the S.C. Sheriff’s Association. He has been named to the Summerville High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

The Rev. Shaun Burn ’04 received the University Mission award. He has been minister of worship at Deer Park Baptist Church in North Charleston since 2004.

The music program at Deer Park has grown since his arrival, and he has started a Singing Christmas Tree and a yearly mission trip. Burn and his wife, the former Kristen Murray, also a 2004 CSU alum, provide a one-week music camp for first through sixth graders through the church. The music camp is open to community children for a minimal cost, and the Burns make scholarships available for those who cannot pay.

David S. Cobden ’01 received the Outstanding Alumnus of the Year Award. Cobden is the national accounts manager – clinical lead for AstraZeneca LP. He received the 2010 Excellence Award for leadership and innovation from the U.S. Medical Affairs.

Currently, he is a PhD candidate in health policy, management and economics at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Holland. He holds a master of public health with concentration in economics and outcomes research from Dartmouth College and a master of science in biochemistry with concentration in marketing and entrepreneurship from Georgetown University.

Cobden has published extensively in peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as numerous abstract presentations at national and international scientific conferences. While at CSU, he was a member of the Honors Program inaugural class and was the first person to graduate from the Honors Program.

A four-time Big South Conference indoor weight throw champion, Aydlette is the school record holder in both the weight throw and the indoor shot put.  He posted the BSC’s best mark in the weight throw in 2000 and 2002.  Aydlette, who competed for the Bucs from 1999-2002, is now the throws coach for CSU, guiding his athletes to five school records – many of which have been broken multiple times.

“I was very excited to hear that I was selected to be in the Athletic Hall of Fame,” said Aydlette.  “It makes me feel good that all the hard work I put in as a student-athlete didn’t go unnoticed.  Great things are going on at CSU, and I’m glad to be a part of them.”

Fellow track and field athlete Anthony Reed was also inducted.   In his time with the Buccaneers, Reed broke both the BSC Indoor Overall record in the triple jump (15.64m) as well as the BSC Championship meet record in the same event (15.31m).  He is the CSU record holder in the long jump (7.36m) and the triple jump (15.64m).

Reed was the Big South Outdoor Long Jump Champion in 1998 and 1999, earned indoor triple jump titles in both 1998 and 1999 and holds the BSC outdoor record in the event at 15.63m.  Reed ended his career as a two-time Big South Conference Most Outstanding Athlete (Indoors). Reed is pastor of Martin Memorial AME Church in Miami, Fla.

Football’s D’Angelo Dereef is the school record holder in both rushing attempts (485) and rushing yards (1,741).  He also holds career records in kick-off returns (75) as well as punt returns (69), and is in the top five in CSU history in total offense.  Dereef ended his career with 1,741 rushing yards and 329 career receiving yards.  A Buccaneer from 1991-94, Dereef is second all-time in single game rushing attempts and fifth in single game rushing yardage.    He is second all-time in all-purpose yards with 278 after his record was broken in 2008 and also holds the eighth spot on the list as well.  Dereef remains the all-time leader in all-purpose yards with 3,795 and is sixth in scoring with 108 points (18 touchdowns).

“I’m very excited to be inducted into the CSU Hall of Fame,” said Dereef.  “It’s overwhelming and an honor to be recognized for something that I worked so hard for and love so much.” Dereef is dean of students, football and baseball coach at Al Raby High School in Chicago, Ill.

Former quarterback Collin Drafts was the 2005 Big South Offensive Player of the Year and led the Buccaneers to their first Big South Championship in that season.  He led the league in pass completions in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and also led in pass completion percentage in 2004 and 2006.  Drafts finished the 2004 and 2005 seasons as the BSC’s leader in passing yardage and passing touchdowns and also led the conference in total offensive yards in 2005. 

The only quarterback in Big South history to throw for 400 yards in a game, Drafts did so twice.  He ended his career with three all-conference selections, two of which were first team honors.  Drafts, who played for the Bucs from 2003-2006, is CSU’s all-time leader in rushing attempts, touchdowns, pass attempts (BSC record), pass completions (BSC record), passing yardage (BSC record), passing touchdowns (BSC record), completions percentage (BSC record), total offensive yards (BSC record) and total offensive touchdowns (BSC record).  He also holds numerous single-game and season records for the Buccaneers. 

“It’s definitely an honor,” said Drafts.  “When Hank called, I was taken aback.  I didn’t realize that five years had passed.  Looking back on those seasons, it’s great to see what myself and the rest of the team accomplished.  I was fortunate to be surrounded by great teammates and coaches and had the opportunity to play with a great support staff at a great university like CSU.” Drafts is a quarterback with the Orlando Predators.

Former volleyball player Priscilla Lauoletolo Moleni rounds out the Class of 2011.   Moleni had two of the top seasons for kills in 446 in 1993 and 438 in 1992 and still holds two of the top four spots.  She finished her career second in CSU history in attacks and is currently fifth all-time with 1,087.  Moleni remains third in Buc history with 54 aces in the 1992 season and is fourth with 420 digs in 1993.  She is fifth on CSU’s all-time kills list with 884, despite playing just two seasons for the Bucs.  Moleni, who competed from 1992-1993, is also in CSU’s all-time top four in hitting percentage. Moleni works in reservations for Continental Airlines.

Her diligent work has earned her the American Sub-Contractor’s Roy H. Lightsey Jr. Scholarship for $2,500.

Hathcock attributes her ability to handle the challenging nursing classes at Charleston Southern to her faith, family and friends. She and her husband, Michael, have a daughter and a son. She works at her daughter’s school, Oakbrook Elementary, as the school nurse.

She said, “Nursing is one of the most amazing callings that a person could ever accept because it gives you the opportunity to serve God, your community and promote wellness.”

After she receives her master’s degree in December she hopes to obtain a faculty position where she can “prepare future nurses to practice nursing with competency and compassion.”

“Sarah is an outstanding graduate student who has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the program and is on track to graduate in December with our second graduating class,” said Dr. Tara Hulsey, dean of the Derry Patterson Wingo School of Nursing.

Project Management has become an industry standard with opportunities ranging from the management of large government contracts to multiple projects within private industry. The need for comprehensively trained, certified project managers has become increasingly important to growing companies.

The CAPS degree concentration approaches project management from a business versus engineering perspective. Course offerings have been developed to prepare students for success when taking industry certification exams. Organizations that provide certification for project managers, as well as Fortune 500 leading companies, were consulted in the development of these courses. Building upon the existing bachelor’s degree program in business management, the new concentration will consist of six additional courses for those desiring to focus their studies on this area.

CAPS, through its partnership with Pearson LearningStudio, a leading company in education and online learning delivery, relied on curriculum design experts to develop courses that meet the intensive project management standards set by the industry.

OmniUpdate is recognized as the leading web content management system (CMS) provider for colleges and universities in the country.

Charleston Southern University is working with Straxis Technology who produces uMobile360, a mobile software design company, to design the university’s mobile applications for Droid, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users. The mobile applications are free and available to faculty, staff, students, alumni and the general public.

Last year, CSU deployed a strategic social media initiative to engage and connect with current and prospective students and alumni. Since fall 2010 CSU has tripled its audience on Facebook and Twitter.

“Social media, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare or YouTube, is a relationship,” said John Strubel, director of integrated marketing. “When the University made the commitment to enter the social media arena, we committed to strengthening our relationships with our students and alumni. You must engage to grow.”

Strubel said the new content management platform will launch in spring 2012 and will redefine the University’s presence on the Internet.

He caught the football bug as a assistant head coach at Holy Cross High School in New Jersey, followed by a graduate assistant position at Temple University. He worked long days and nights hoping to climb the college football ranks and brand his name synonymous with the game.

Football stole his heart and became his identity; wins and losses were the measuring stick; his purpose in life was defined by a slice of brown pigskin held together by eight stitches. The game of football had assumed the place of God in Davis’ life.

“Football was my God,” confessed Davis. “If anything got in the way of football, if anything got in my way of being a head football coach at a major university, whatever that might be, it was going to move out of the way. I was married to football.”

College football has its unwritten rules. To win, you must be focused. No distractions. When Temple learned Davis was married he almost lost the job. When he found out he prepared his wife, Lynette.

“If Notre Dame calls and they say I can’t be married, I’m leaving you,” he told her.

The comment wasn’t some offhanded wisecrack – it was a stone-cold promise. There was no way a relationship, a marriage, was going to stand between Davis and his dream job.

“My wife was devastated,” Davis said. “Our marriage was struggling because of my selfishness, and she showed grace. That was a defining moment in my life. To see her forgive and love and care for me, when I was self-centered … I praise God that he saved me from myself.”

A personal Grace Awakening

Davis was a believer. He sold himself to family, friends and the university as a Christian. But the truth was God was a red-shirt freshman who was praised after a big win or called on as a “good luck charm” during a close game. Davis would reach out to Him when a friend or family member was ill, when He didn’t respond as expected, bitterness took over.

It was 1992 on the University of Alabama at Birmingham football field Davis hit rock bottom.

“I remember it being the lowest point in my coaching career,” he said. “I’d never felt such emptiness. Here I was coaching my heart out – and feeling emptiness. I needed Jesus.”

This was his personal grace awakening. Davis rededicated his life in 1993 and continued to coach at Charleston Southern, but he was certain the Lord was preparing him for something new.

In 1998, Davis was offered a head coaching job at a junior college in Kansas. He turned down the offer. A year later he was offered the job as head football coach and director of athletic ministry at North Greenville, again, he said no thank you.

“Jon, you’ve worked your whole life for this, to be a head coach, what’s going on?” asked Lynette.

Davis said he felt God leading him into ministry.

“God began to slowly wean me out of football,” said Davis. “When God moved in, the Holy Spirit moved in, and I rededicated my life; I was not the same person. My idol was football. God was secondary, not a priority in my life. It just shows you the power of God.”

A verse comes to life

Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come. – Psalm 71:18

Psalm 71:18 is Jonathan Davis’s life verse. He believes God gave it to him while in seminary. Davis said he didn’t know why, or even what the significance of the verse was – it was just there. In his mind, his thoughts, his prayer.

In December 1997, Davis began pastoring Summit Church and later the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. In 2003, he began teaching, adding assistant campus minister duties a year later. This past summer he was promoted to campus minister at Charleston Southern, replacing Clark Carter, who was promoted to dean of students.

“When I said yes that I would do this, it was a Tuesday,” said Davis. “That Tuesday night we baptized 45 people. That’s when I knew God’s hand was in it.

“I don’t know how else to describe the Holy Spirit except like Jesus said in John 3:8, ‘The wind blows where it chooses’ and to see the Holy Spirit just open our eyes and let us experience Him. I can’t imagine anybody that was there (Grace Awakening) not being able to look back at this and it be one of their top five spiritual mile markers in their life.

“To impart and declare the power of God to the next generation is what gives me hope. What we’ve seen with Grace Awakening, God is doing something with this generation. I see the believers in this generation that really want to learn from people that have been there. So, I see my life verse being played out before my eyes, and I just knew that God was in it.”

Fourth and Long

As campus minister, Davis is responsible for leading a campus dominated by young people. He is witnessing to believers and nonbelievers, some are teenagers, others adults. Davis defined his new role as campus minister as all-inclusive.

“Pastoring is not pastoring a church, it’s pastoring a community,” he said. “I’ve taken that mindset to campus, that I’m not just pastoring the ministries on this campus that I’m trying to pastor everybody on this campus, regardless of where they are in their faith, I’m going to try and pastor them. That’s my heart.”

According to Davis, the transition from coach to pastor at CSU was natural. The University’s vision of integrating faith in learning, leading and serving has been gaining momentum.

“There are some strong believers on campus among faculty and staff,” he said. “To see the encouragement on this campus, to see people fired up about God and see this as a ministry and not a job – it inspires me.”

Davis said today’s college students are entering into a season when they “make the biggest decisions of their lives.” Careers, marriage, responsibility, accountability, suddenly life takes a sharp 90-degree turn, an experience Davis is all too familiar with.

“If you’re not careful, when you’re in college it can become a very selfish time because it’s all about what I’m going to do with my life, what I’m doing, who I’m going to be with,” he said. “So, to get people to live outside themselves is the challenge – to see people, instead of being takers become givers. That’s really why I enjoy what I do, and I’m so thankful to the Lord and this University for giving me that opportunity.”

Rev. Clark Carter ’87, former campus minister, is the new dean of students. Carter provides leadership for student discipline, student life, campus ministries and the general oversight of the work of the associate dean and assistant deans in the division.

Carter says serving as campus minister helps in his role as dean of students. “It helped me to get an up-close and personal view of the great potential of our students,” said Carter. “In today’s world, we hear so much negative news about college students. Words like lazy and directionless are often used to describe them. But I have found that so many of our students are hardworking, faithful and passionate about serving the Lord and others.”

“I also still see myself as a minister of the gospel. God called me into vocational ministry 28 years ago…and that call will never change,” said Carter.

“These promotions and new appointments will strengthen the student life department’s partnership with our academic colleagues to build a thriving learning community built on learning, leading and serving,” said Dr. Rick Brewer, vice president for student affairs and athletics.  

Dr. Hester Young is the assistant dean of students for student services. Young provides leadership for career planning, service learning and multicultural programming.

Corey Humphries ’04, ’09 MSCJ, is assistant dean of students for campus life. Humphries provides leadership for residence life, campus security, student activities and recreational services.

Barbara Mead continues to serve as associate dean of students for student development. Mead provides leadership for the Counseling Center, international students and life skills programming.