by Julie Shrewsbury | Dec 3, 2012 | Opinion
Do you know what software inventor Bill Gates, singer Avril Lavigne, actress Julia Roberts and talk show host Oprah Winfrey have in common? They all had troubled childhoods and were considered “geeks” and “misfits” by their classmates. Look around. Could the person sitting next to you be a future celebrity? Here is a look at those celebrities, their beginnings and where they are now, as well as comments from Lipscomb students who find fuel for their souls in the stories of these people. When he was 8 years old, Bill Gates read the encyclopedia from A to P. So, it’s no wonder he was not particularly popular with his classmates. In his teenage years, he was skinny, shy and awkward, and he used to wake up in the morning dreading going to school. He now wakes up every morning $12 million richer thanks to his Microsoft Corp. “When I was about 8 years old, I told my mom I wanted to be Bill Gates when I grew up,” said Aaron Spragg, a junior social entrepreneurship major. “She handed me the biggest book we had in our house and told me to start reading. I thought that he was the coolest guy, especially since he donated millions of dollars to charities every year. Not only is he a genius, but he is a good guy too. He is an inspiration and a great role model, and I hope to be able to start my own business one day and be able to mimic some of his qualities.” Avril Lavigne was considered anything but ordinary. She was a tomboy who played hockey...
by Julie Shrewsbury | Dec 12, 2011 | News Slider
Thousand one, thousand two, thousand three, thousand four, thousand five, thousand six, in the short period of time it took you to read that a child just died from severe acute malnutrition. That number is higher than people that die from AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. It’s because every six seconds a child dies from something so preventable that Alex Cox and Mark Slagle are driving around the country in a 1971 Winnebago promoting MANA Nutrition. During that journey, they parked their orange shag-carpet-covered “MANAbago” on campus in an attempt to enlist Lipscomb students in the fight and let them learn about MANA Nutrition, which is provided in special packets of peanut butter. But this isn’t just any peanut butter; this peanut butter saves lives. MANA creates and doles out this ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) which is a combination of peanut butter, milk and vitamins. The therapeutic food packet supplies children with the proper nutrition needed to increase brain development. Eating three packets of MANA a day for four to six weeks, a child can grow from being severely acutely malnourished, to being fully developed. The nutritional supplement is helping save the lives of malnourished children around the world. The gaudy MANAbago travels around the country to help inform people of the hope that MANA Nutrition provides to malnourished children. The young men teach crowds about the hunger epidemic around the world and inform them of the ways that therapeutic food can save the hungry. Although MANA has contracts with UNICEF, UNICEF only has enough funds to reach 10 percent of malnourished children in the world. MANA Nutrition is...
by Julie Shrewsbury | Nov 10, 2011 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb’s Lady Bisons cross-country team, which for a couple of weeks has been able to savor the A-Sun championship, now must turn the page and be ready for Saturday’s NCAA South Regional at the Harry Pritchett Course in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Regardless, they take a load of pride into the event. After the A-Sun title race, coach Bill Taylor had a big smile on his face. “We’ve had the best four weeks of practice I’ve ever seen. I gave each of them a plan to be successful and they followed it,” he said. Of course they didn’t have any time to slack off that work. Still, while they are moving on, these young women can reflect on their winning experience of that day of A-Sun glory. “Remember your ‘I wills,’ remember the sweat and tears you have put into this season. Remember your teammates and most of all remember to believe in yourself, because if you do that you are capable of anything.” This was what Amanda Twigg, a junior history education major from Cumberland, Md., said to a few of her teammates minutes before the 2011 A-Sun cross-country conference championship race started. Moments later the runners were off, running a race they will never forget. That Saturday morning, on their home Vaughn’s Gap course at Percy Warner Park, they won the 2011 Atlantic Sun title, with an accumulated score of 53 points, defeating defending champion North Florida by 16 points. Lipscomb was the only school to place six runners in the top 20 finishers. This is the first time A-Sun conference title for the Lady Bisons cross-country team. Sophomore...
by Julie Shrewsbury | Oct 27, 2011 | News Slider, Opinion
It’s mid October, nearing that crazy time of year when people dress up like their favorite celebrities, sports figures, ghouls, goblins or other unique personality. Yes, Halloween is right around the corner and dressing up and trick-or-treating can be a blast, but if you live in Nashville there are plenty of other Halloween festivities to partake in. Haunted houses run a muck around the Nashville area, however, finding one to fulfill the thrill you’re looking for can be a difficult task. There is a haunted house out there for everyone, but the chore is finding one that’s scary enough for those daring adrenaline junkies, not too scary for those bringing children, and easy on the gore for those with weak stomachs. Here’s some insight on some of the most popular haunted houses in 2011. Nashville Nightmare, a new haunted house established this year, consists of highly detailed scenes, state of the art animations and special effects as well as intense actors. It is located at 1016 Madison Square and general admission is $15. Please upgrade your browser Bikers Who Scare Haunted House is hosted by bikers that are a part of the Bikers Who Care Organization. It is hosted in an old movie theater in Clarksville, Tenn. and is usually open only on weekends. Located at 1955 Madison Street, it is one of the cheaper haunted houses around, costing under $10. Abby Dodson, a nursing major from Franklin, Tenn., attended Haunted Woods Haunted House in Leipers Fork, Tennessee. “I didn’t think it was particularly scary, but it was fun to go to with a group of people,” Dodson says....
by Julie Shrewsbury | Apr 7, 2011 | Opinion
Variety is a must for some, while picky eaters just want simple food and still others declare bold taste and robust flavor choices a necessity. At Virago, those concerns are a thing of the past. Their entrees range from every roll combination you can image for sushi lovers to shrimp egg rolls, fried wontons, edamame, new-style sashimi and even Thai lobster shooters for those with slightly more exotic taste buds. For the manly men or less exotic eaters out there, they serve hearty filet mignon, pork in lemon butter sauce, Wagyu Sirloin and “angry chicken” (which is grilled chicken with a little kick over coconut rice). Seafood lovers, Virago hasn’t forgotten about you. They offer Scottish salmon, truffle sea bass, crab and shrimp dumplings, king crab legs, wild-caught prawn and blackened Ahi, just to name a few items. One of Virago’s signature dishes is a sushi roll entitled “The Bomb.” With a title like that, what should you expect? I’ll lay it out for you. “The Bomb” consists of tempura shrimp, avocado and asparagus on the inside, baked jumbo lump crab and spicy mayo on top and a touch of unagi sauce and scallions. Yum Yum! Although “The Bomb” did sound delicious, “Yum Yum” is actually the next roll I’m going to touch on. The “Yum Yum” is a crispy tempura roll with tuna, smoked salmon, cream cheese and ponzu. I could go on and on about Virago’s never-ending, delectable menu all day long. Virago’s has two locations in Nashville. One is located in the Gulch on McGavock Street and the other is downtown on Division Street. The atmosphere...
