This week in Highlanders in the News: See which two faculty members claimed a spot on the Roanoker magazine’s “40 Under 40” list of young professionals. Also, Radford University Carilion’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program is a good fit for student Andrea Gee, and an assistant director with Radford’s financial aid office, Shaunda Macomber, talks farm life.

The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly affected the career trajectory of many professionals when it hit in 2019, and Anna Kate Draper’s experience was no different. Three years later, she is preparing to graduate from the RUC Master of Health Sciences program with a clinical research administration concentration—the first student to ever graduate from RUC with that particular degree concentration.

More than 100 students from local public, private and home-school education arrived at Radford University Carilion on Oct. 28, ready to be immersed in STEAM Day 2022. These eager students engaged with faculty and staff in several science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) areas.

Emily Snow has excelled in the traditional bachelor of science in nursing program at RUC, earning the praise of the School of Nursing Interim Dean Wendy Downey, who says Snow embodies the strong, capable and compassionate aspects of the program. Snow has also received recognition externally for her performance as one of only 20 recipients nationally of the Henry J. Reilly Scholarship from the Reserve Organization of America.

Over the past few months, students and faculty in the Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) program at Radford University Carilion have organized and participated in adaptive activities designed to help broaden access to recreation opportunities in the region. The activities have been transformative for the participants, giving them the chance to experience water sports in new ways by increasing their independence and broadening their worlds.

Radford University officially inaugurated Bret Danilowicz, Ph.D., as the eighth president in the 112-year history of the institution during a warm ceremony on a chilly Friday morning, Sept. 30, 2022 on the McConnell Library lawn. 

Every summer for the last few years, the occupational therapy labs on the main campus in Radford and at Radford University Carilion in Roanoke echo with the sound of children’s giggles, playful screams and excited chatter during free summer camps held for kids ages 3-6. Both the children and the occupational therapy students who run them benefit from the experience.

For the first time, Radford University was recognized among the top National Universities, a category which ranks schools that offer a range of doctoral programs in addition to undergraduate majors and master's programs.

As a literary tourist, associate professor of English Courtney Watson is a frequent visitor to sites like Rowan Oak; and Key West, Florida; and Monroeville, Alabama; and Paris, where writers like William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Harper Lee, Truman Capote, Eudora Welty and Robert Wright lived, wrote, and set scenes that made them the beloved writers they are today. 

For De’anthony “DJ” Taylor, a third-year student in the emergency services program at Radford University Carilion (RUC), it took a leap from a big pond to a small pond to find his comfort zone and path to a career.