by Erin Franklin | May 8, 2017 | Galleries
Lipscomb University celebrated its 2017 graduating class by giving 545 undergraduate degrees to students on Saturday afternoon in Allen Arena. Three professors received “Outstanding Teacher Awards” — Lee Camp, Professor of Bible, Elisabeth Conway, Associate Professor of Biology, and Ruth Henry, Professor of Exercise Science. For his closing remarks to the graduating class, President Lowry spoke of what it means to be a Lipscomb alum. “The reality is that we, as this group, will never gather together again,” Lowry said. “But you will go out as a Bison and join the other 35,000 Bison who are out there. You will run into them literally all over the world, and I want you to know that as you do that, you will take the spirit of this community with you, and you will meet the spirit of this community as you find your fellow alums wherever they might be.” « ‹ of 2 ›...
by Erin Franklin | May 7, 2017 | News Slider
Lipscomb University celebrated its 2017 graduating class by giving 545 undergraduate degrees to students on Saturday afternoon in Allen Arena. President Randy Lowry awarded the students with their diplomas and recognized five exceptional students who walked across the stage. “I think in trying to describe this moment, it’s truly best described by some of you,” Lowry said. “Everyone of you has a story. A good story. A profound story. For some of you, they’re inspirational stories, and I want to share just some of them — those in your class who give all a sense of what you bring and what you will take from this university.” Graduate Macy Cottrell was one of these students, recognized for receiving both her masters and undergraduate degrees from Lipscomb on the same day — and actually her masters degree first due to the timing of the ceremonies. Cottrell will be studying at Oxford next year. Next, Lowry recognized Egyptian immigrant Mark Naguib, who scored in the top 1% nationally on the MCAT and will be attending Vanderbilt University Medical School on a full tuition scholarship. Lowry also applauded Jacky Gomez, who, after graduating high school was “what back then we would call undocumented” — came to Lipscomb and served as President of Lipscomb’s Latino organization, has been a Lipscomb Presidential Ambassador and served on the Quest Team, all while working over 30 hours per week during her college years. Gomez represents nearly 200 Latino Hispanic students at Lipscomb. “Some students served before they came,” Lowry said, “and now we are especially privileged to serve them.” Before coming to college, Sergeant Bryan Flanery...
by Erin Franklin | Apr 28, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons softball team has proved the mental side of the game is just as important as the physical side this season. With a “Battle of the Boulevard” win over Belmont Tuesday night, the Lady Bisons are continuing their strong season in the ASUN conference, holding a 34-13 record and showing that they know how to win. “The mental side of the game can help everybody,” Head Coach Kristin Ryman said. “Several years ago we started doing some stuff with them to just get them out of how they think. Sometimes they have one bad at bat, and they think, ‘I’m terrible at softball; why am I even playing?’ and make it really extreme. It’s easy to do that, but having these little exercises that they do can really help bring them back to reality.” Ryman, who is in her 12th season with the Lady Bisons, said she thinks the mental game is the next big thing to be targeted at the college level, even more so than it already is. Therefore, strengthening the mental side is something the team has worked on improving each year. This semester, the coaches started bringing index cards to games and practices. On them, the players would write down their goals and affirmations before they would step onto the field. “They all stand out there outside of that left field gate, and before they ever walk in, they just kind of have a moment to let go of whatever they have going on during the school day, whether they feel they did poorly on a test, or they’re having issues with a boyfriend, and realize...
by Erin Franklin | Apr 23, 2017 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
A big-name cast leads the way in Gifted, a melodrama with a thought-provoking tone. McKenna Grace (Designated Survivor, Once Upon A Time) plays Mary Adler and carries the film on her own. The pint-sized actress is similar to the Fanning girls, Dakota and Elle, in her “giftedness” on the screen at such a young age. She stars in the film as the protagonist who has an exceptional talent in mathematics. Chris Evans (The Avengers, The Nanny Diaries) is Mary’s single Uncle Frank, who struggles with how to deal with his niece’s profound gift. Frank had been homeschooling Mary, but enrolls her in the local public elementary school to start first grade. Due partially to the environment she was raised in, Mary has a strong attachment to her uncle and begs him not to make her go, but Frank tells Mary that he’s taught her “all he knows.” Despite her academic talent, Frank doesn’t plan on enrolling her in sort of special program to strengthen this talent. Begrudgingly, Mary attends school, and her teacher immediately recognizes her mathematical ability. Frank’s British mother, who has been absent all of Mary’s life, is contacted concerning Frank’s insistence on not enrolling Mary in a gifted program at a different school to hone her ability. This escalates into a custody battle between Frank and his mother, played by Lindsay Duncan (About Time, Birdman), which is what the remainder of the film centers on. This conflict overtakes the plot just a little too much, rather than focusing on Mary’s gift, which is the most engrossing and engaging part of the film. Gifted’s best quality is...
by Erin Franklin | Apr 21, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
A rain delay in the second inning didn’t stop the Lipscomb Lady Bisons from run-ruling the Chattanooga Mocs 12-0 in five innings on Thursday night at Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium. Coming off a 4-1 win Tuesday night at Louisville, Lipscomb (33-13) pulled a massive nine-run second inning to go up 11-0 over the Mocs (12-32) early in the game. “I loved how we scored right off the bat,” head coach Kristin Ryman said. “Chloe [Yeager] gets a really clutch two RBI single right there in the first inning to get us on the board and jump-start us, and then in the second inning we just really took off. After that, we just relied on our defense.” Senior veteran pitcher McCarley Thomas pitched the entire game, only allowing two hits, while Chattanooga threw two freshmen — Celie Hudson and Alex Connell, who let up four hits a piece against the Lady Bisons. “I feel pretty good about it,” Thomas said. “I think I have the opportunity to be sharper and to get ahead more on my batters, and that’s going to help me out a lot. It’s a team sport, and my teammates had my back, so it was a good outing.” In the first inning, junior Caitlin Plocheck knocked a double to centerfield for the Lady Bisons’ first hit. Then with two outs and bases loaded, freshman Chloe Yeager came up to bat, drilling a single up the middle to bring in the first two runs of the game. After a quick rain delay, sophomore Destinee Brewer knocked a single and stole third before senior Kasey Gibson hit a...
