by Erin Franklin | May 22, 2016 | News Slider
Several hundred excited athletes gathered Friday and Saturday at Lipscomb for competition, dancing and fun during the 2016 Special Olympics State Summer Games. There were six different categories of competition: aquatics, track and field, bocce, powerlifting, tennis and volleyball. The aquatics events were held at Ensworth School. Over 2,500 athletes, coaches, volunteers and family members attended the competition. The Special Olympics State Summer Games also were held at Lipscomb in 2015. In the past, Lipscomb has consistently hosted the state Special Olympics basketball tournament. Williamson County Special Olympics bocce adult-leader Brenda Hauk said her team “did very good” and walked away with several medals. “Our guys won first place, our gals won fourth, and everybody walked away with a medal. We played singles and doubles, and they did really good!” Hauk said she is grateful for the experience Lipscomb provides by opening the doors for the state games to be held on campus. “Lipscomb has been so nice to us, and it has just been wonderful,” Hauk said. Although Williamson County Olympians did not stay on campus for the competition, Lipscomb opened up the dormitories for competitors who had to travel long distances to participate in the state games. The Special Olympics program holds over 100 competitions annually for men and women with intellectual disabilities. Once every four years, the Special Olympians have the opportunity to compete at the U.S. Games and the World Games. The Special Olympics program also offers the unique opportunity of unified sports, such as the unified volleyball competition held at the State Summer Games this year. Unified sports allow people with and without intellectual disabilities to team...
by Mignonne Bryant | May 19, 2016 | News Slider
Summer has just begun for Lipscomb students, and many are already busy with travel, new internships, jobs and summer classes. Leah Gwin, a senior digital marketing and international business double major at Lipscomb, recently left to travel to Cape Town, South Africa to visit her cousin and experience African culture. Gwin’s 16-hour flight left on May 12, and she will be in Cape Town for about 18 days before coming back to the United States. “For the past few years, I have been half-joking with my parents saying I’d love to visit my cousin for a graduation present. Turns out, my parents are awesome and decided to buy me a plane ticket to South Africa to celebrate my graduation,” she said. Gwin is no stranger to travel. She studied abroad in Vienna in 2013, visited many places around Europe and also traveled to Tanzania, Africa, twice to minister to local villages. “Going to Cape Town will be completely different from my past experiences in Africa because it was founded by the British and has a mix of African and European culture and also has economic challenges right now,” Gwin said. Gwin was also excited to swim with sharks in the African waters at sunrise. “My cousin and I will be picked up at 3 a.m., put on wet suits and then load in a boat to go jump in the water with the sharks when the sun rises,” she said. Lindsey Benson is a sophomore exercise science major at Lipscomb who will be a camp counselor at Camp Big Fish in Chattanooga this summer. “I have about 15 incoming kindergarteners, and...
by Erin Franklin | May 17, 2016 | News Slider
Lipscomb’s latest endeavor seeks to build a partnership with Metro and to spark new leaders with a desire to serve in the downtown Nashville community. University President Randy Lowry announced the program, the off-campus Spark center in downtown Nashville, Tuesday morning on the SunTrust Plaza, which is right across the street from the 20,100-square-feet space the Spark Center will soon occupy. Lowry said the program is an initiative to make Lipscomb downtown Nashville’s university. The new program will focus on graduates who have a desire to serve, and it will train the next generation of public sector leaders. Located at the corner of 4th and Commerce, the new Downtown Spark will open in January or February 2017. Lowry said John Lowry, vice president of Development and External Affairs, is the energy, spark and visionary for the Spark initiative. Lipscomb started its first off-campus Spark site in Cool Springs almost four years ago. “He saw what could happen in Cool Springs, and he knows what can happen downtown,” Lowry said. “I envision 10,000 visitors a year coming to this center and being educated. I envision about 300 graduate students in work-place related programs. All of this will spark their creativity, spark their education, spark their careers and spark our city.” John Lowry said that the Spark program will allow students to experience a Lipscomb education in a prime, downtown location. “It will be a place where people come to advance their careers and to have their lives influenced by the Lipscomb faculty and a Lipscomb academic program,” John Lowry said. The Spark program will offer academic programs and leadership training as well as provide...
by Lyndi Locke | May 14, 2016 | News Slider
This summer, junior dietetics major Georgia McArtney is combining her love of nutrition, adventure and teaching to go work as a counselor and intern at Summercise Camp in the small coastal city of Nome, Alaska. According to McArtney, since Alaska has the highest rate of diabetes in the United States, Summercise makes an effort to raise awareness. “They want to make living a healthy lifestyle attainable for kids,” McArtney said. The opportunity appeared in McCartney’s life last fall. “I got an out-of-the-blue email from my professor about Summercise last October. I didn’t think I could do it because that’s a big commitment to make for a whole summer,” she said. However, she decided that the internship was an opportunity to step out of her comfort zone. “I kept thinking about it and realized that I was passionate about everything that the camp entails.” McCartney said that during her 10-week stay in Nome, she is going to teach classes on nutrition and cooking, as well as various physical activities such as hiking, biking, camping and yoga. “I love making nutrition approachable to people. It doesn’t have to be about strict dieting. It can be small lifestyle changes that are fun, too,” McArtney said. Not only will she teach various classes, but she is also in charge of creating her own curriculum for each one. “Taking responsibility for my own classes will be both challenging and rewarding,” McArtney said. Aside from working at Summercise, McArtney is also looking forward to exploring Alaska in her free time and especially taking advantage of the great fishing and camping opportunities. Despite her excitement about...
by Erin Franklin | May 11, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Talent such as Jordan Smith, winner of “The Voice,” and Grammy winner Michael W. Smith graced the stage at the GMA Honors and Hall of Fame Ceremony, which was held in Allen Arena on Tuesday, May 10. GMA continues to host its big events at Lipscomb, as it also hosts the annual Dove Awards in Allen Arena in the fall. 2016 honorees include Jars of Clay with their ministry Blood: Water Mission, Catherine Brewton with her ministry Hope For Harvest, Michael W. Smith, founder of Rocketown and the Gospel Music Trust Fund. Michael W. Smith, who has won more than 40 Dove Awards, received three Grammys and had two No. 1 hits, was recognized for founding Rocketown, a youth outreach ministry located in downtown Nashville. Smith said he is always trying to grow Rocketown, but he is still focused on the ministry aspect of his outreach. “It seems like we keep having expansions; we now have an art studio, dance studio, music studio and after-school programs,” Smith said. “We’re talking about expanding our space. We’re already at 45,000 square feet, and we’re thinking about adding an indoor gymnasium and making skatepark bigger, but the expansions I love are the ministry focused ones like Skatechurch on Tuesday nights.” “Five or six years ago, we found out that some of these kids had not eaten in two or three days, so we decided to start a food program.” After this realization, Smith started Rocketown Potluck, which is a family-style dinner held on Thursday nights. 2016 inductees to the GMA Hall of Fame were Russ Taff, Howard Rachinski, The Nelons and Hezekiah Walker. Past inductees include Fanny Crosby...
by Erin Franklin | May 8, 2016 | News Slider
Lipscomb celebrated a record number of graduates, a Fulbright scholar, 29 SALT Scholars and three outstanding professors Saturday afternoon in Allen Arena. Over 500 students graduated making it the largest number of students in the university’s history. Chemistry professor C. Kent Clinger gave the invocation. Education professor Carrie R. Abood gave the faculty charge. Abood told the students that she, too, was a graduate 10 years ago. Reflecting upon her own graduation, the professor gave the students advice she said she wished someone had told her. “Embrace this season of your life and enjoy it,” Abood said. “Trade anxiety for adventure. Replace the doubts of the unknown with the excitement of opportunity. Celebrate your accomplishments. Embrace all the changing seasons with joy.” Exercise Science professor Ruth Henry recognized the 29 SALT scholars from six different academic areas, who invested in the community significantly and completed a capstone project. The students in the senior class of 2016 were then awarded their diplomas. The following three outstanding professors were also recognized: Bonny B Millimaki, Assistant Professor of Biology, Theodore H. Parks, Associate Professor of Spanish and Joshua M. Strahan, Assistant Professor of Bible. President Randy Lowry concluded the program, charging the students to have gratitude and appreciation for all that has been given to them to help them get to this point in their lives. “This day is the result of your vision, your courage, in many cases overcoming substantial obstacles to share this moment, the result of your tenacity and your steadfastness,” Lowry said. He then asked the graduates the question, “What do you have that has not been given to...
