by Anna McClure | Mar 14, 2015 | News Slider
For some, coming to college means leaving behind the novelties of childhood, but not for Sarah Johnson. Johnson, a freshman theater major, intends to bring Disney characters to life by hand-making costumes and photographing students in the theater department wearing them. Johnson had the idea for a similar project four years ago, but felt she did not have the resources and skills necessary to bring it to life. “When I came to Lipscomb and got into the theater department, got a little more into photography and had a nice camera, I started taking pictures and I started seeing the talent that all these different people had,” Johnson said. “Instead of using models, I thought that it would be interesting to see people, who for or a living or for a hobby want to act as characters, to take on the characters that they love.” Johnson is planning to photograph a different set of characters each semester. The theme of this set will be Disney Princesses, but future plans include Toy Story, Disney villains, Greek Mythology and horror sets. Friend and fellow first year theater student, Natalie Risk, has been assisting Johnson with the project. “This is a project that will span our entire four years of college,” Risk said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing the last set of pictures we take and comparing them to our first. Seeing the progression and the growth in every aspect of what we do will be a lot of fun to watch.” Together they have made a schedule, acquired materials and picked locations for photo shoots. With fabrics, bedspreads and clothing from Goodwill...
by Anna McClure | Mar 1, 2015 | News Slider
Meals 2 Heal offers students the opportunity to learn about nutrition and culinary skills while connecting with members of the community as they prepare nourishing meals for cancer patients. Based out of the Calvary United Methodist Church in Green Hills, Meals 2 Heal seeks to prepare and deliver a week’s worth of meals, free of charge, to cancer patients in Davidson and Williamson County. “Although we’re serving meals to people who are currently going through active cancer treatment, it’s not just the meals that are important, it’s the love and the support that we give them — it’s the love that we teach the people in the kitchen,” volunteer coordinator Robin Mizaur said. Meals 2 Heal is a branch of The Heimerdinger Foundation, which was founded following the death of Mike Heimerdinger who lost his battle with cancer in September of 2011. It was during his treatment that the Heimerdinger’s were exposed to the whole-body approach of using nutrition, supplements and alternative treatments along with Chemotherapy. The Heimerdinger Foundation was formed to promote healthier lifestyles and help raise awareness about cancer treatment options. “It’s not just about the food; we’re also hoping that people will make healthy lifestyle changes,” Mizaur said. Founder Kathie Heimerdinger works alongside the volunteers in the kitchen each week and says that each person who contributes to the preparation is an integral part of the process. “I’m just so grateful that we’re here and blessed with the people that walk through our doors and help us produce these unbelievable meals — from our chef to the mentor chefs to the teen volunteers,” Heimerdinger said. Heimerdinger modeled...
by Anna McClure | Jan 29, 2015 | News Slider
Nashville’s leading ladies in tech discussed how technology can be used for societal betterment at the Girl Geek Dinner Wednesday night in Shamblin Theater. The event, sponsored by local company Digital Reasoning, addressed causes evolving in the technological world, steps that can be taken to help the causes and the ethical use of hacking. Panelists included Holly Gardner, Sarah Brown, Katy Campen and Amber Adams. Digital Reasoning CEO Tim Estes opened the night with Nashville’s recent progress and overall growth, and emphasized the importance of perseverance. “You preserver because you believe you can do something,” Estes said. The panel kicked off the discussion with Kiva, a non-profit organization that allows individuals to make microloans in order to start or expand businesses, afford school, build a house or similar causes. According to Gardner, a Digital Reasoning research engineer, lenders typically receive at least a 90 percent repayment of their loans. Education and community were also strong topics of discussion. Campen told of her experiences working as an 100 Girls of Code instructor. 100 Girls of Code is a program which conducts workshops across Tennessee in order to raise awareness among girls ages 12 to 18 about a career in computer science. The program is currently touring eight states in the Southeast and will be opening a Nashville chapter next month. For older members and students of the computer engineering community, developer meetings provide the opportunity for networking and outreach. “I’m hoping to make some sort of connection,” sophomore Brianna Choy said. The dinner provided Choy with the opportunity to meet women in the computing field, as she is the only female software engineering major in her year. “I...
by Anna McClure | Jan 7, 2015 | News Slider
Students in the College of Engineering plan to construct a bridge on campus in just a few weeks. This prototype bridge will be built in the quad outside the Hughes Center, and the parts will be shipped to Honduras and rebuilt during a mission trip this spring. Once in Honduras, the bridge will allow grade school students to safely cross a highway on their school campus. According to Kerry Patterson, associate professor of engineering, the road will become the main access to a new port facility and will likely become busier in the future, making the bridge more needed. The team of student volunteers, co-led by alumni Luke Burris and Ethan Johnson, will have the parts manufactured in America. But for now, construction of the prototype is being held off until approval from the Honduran government. “Once we have approval, it will be about 4-5 weeks before we will be ready to build the bridge on campus,” Patterson said. Construction of the campus bridge should begin in February. The campus bridge will be over 100 feet long and one to two feet off the ground, but the official bridge will be 4 feet wide and nearly 8 feet tall to allow traffic to pass under it. Between 15 and 20 students will travel to Honduras to construct the bridge. The project will be done in partnership with Honduras Outreach Inc., a non-profit mission...
