Our Highlanders are using their education to do extraordinary things. In this column, we highlight some notable mentions from local, regional, national and international news media. Whether our students, alumni, faculty and staff are featured as subject matter experts in high-profile stories or simply helping make the world a better place, we’ll feature their stories.
He’s going the distance
Even if you only looked at his track stats, Eddie Rutherford’s time in Soap Box Derby is impressive.
A junior nursing major from Culpeper, Virginia, he first got behind the wheel at age 7, in 2013, and raced in the Stock Car division for the next six years. He rose through the ranks and, in 2022, finished fifth in the Masters world championship. The following year, he took home the Piedmont Area Soap Box Derby’s Carol Anne Brown sportsmanship trophy, and the year after that, he earned a Carole Anne Brown and Andrew Winland Scholarship.
But beyond those accolades, Rutherford now also boosts the derby by giving race-centric STEM presentations at schools and functions and through behind-the-scenes efforts.
“My interest has turned from winning races for myself to helping promote Soap Box Derby racing and helping local families have the same opportunity that I experienced,” Rutherford said in a statement.
Notice has been taken – Rutherford is one of five Soap Box Derby volunteers tapped this year for the organization’s Youth Volunteer Service Award, “which recognizes volunteers under the age of 21 who have demonstrated a positive impact on the Soap Box Derby through their leadership on the local, regional and national levels,” according to a news release.
“These five young leaders have embraced that responsibility and are helping ensure the Soap Box Derby remains strong for the next generation,” Dennis VanFossen Jr., president and chief executive officer of International Soap Box Derby, Inc., said in an announcement.
The Youth Volunteer Service Awards will be presented at the awards ceremony following the 88th FirstEnergy All-American Soap Box Derby world championships in Akron, Ohio, on July 18.
The full release is available on Soap Box Derby’s website, and a story about Rutherford ran June 18 in the Rappahannock News.
A pair of principals
As of this week, two Highlanders are now each helming schools in Botetourt County.
Kara Halsey, who earned her master’s degree in educational leadership and administration from Radford in 2023, has been named the new principal of Read Mountain Middle School in Cloverdale, Virginia. The county credited her as being a driver in the fields of literacy, student achievement, staff development and school culture.
“I am honored and excited to serve as the next principal,” Halsey said. “This school has always held a special place in my heart, and I look forward to partnering with our students, staff, families, and community as we continue to build on the school’s many strengths.”
Halsey, who’s also now pursuing a doctorate of education at Radford, taught English at Read Mountain for five years before serving as principal of Eagle Rock Elementary School in Eagle Rock, Virginia.
Her former Eagle Rock post is now being filled by Kristy Martin ’99, who has 16 years of educational experience with specialties that include instructional leadership, student advocacy and fostering supportive learning environments, school officials said.
Martin just completed a stint as an assistant principal at Greenfield Elementary School in Troutville, Virginia.
“A school is more than a building – it is a community built on relationships, trust and shared memories,” she said.
“I am excited to step into this role, listen, learn, and become part of the Eagle Rock community.”
Both Halsey’s and Martin’s appointments went into effect on July 1.
Driving change
Radford University’s new four-wheeled health clinic has made the news of late.
It got some of the spotlight’s glow in early May and recently pulled back in front of the cameras – this time for a June 15 piece by WDBJ-7.
That story examined growing efforts by the school to address rural healthcare shortages around the region, and it also noted recent increases in Radford’s number of graduating nurses.
The Radford University Cares Mobile Health Clinic, a converted recreational vehicle, is now visiting rural communities to offer treatment while also allowing supervised nursing students the chance to see patients who don’t have easy access to care.
“This is free,” Amanda Hudgins, director of research and innovation for Radford’s College of Nursing, told the news station. “We will be providing free healthcare.”
The College of Nursing also recently conferred degrees upon 350 new nurses, marking the largest class in the school’s history.
Its dean, Wendy Downey, told Channel 7 that most of its graduates remain in the area, a valuable addition to Southwest Virginia.
“Our region needs more healthcare workers,” she said. “We are in a major healthcare crisis, and we need that.”
The profile also spoke to Shemiaih Dickerson ’26, who earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in May and whose current path fulfills a longtime dream.
“I’ve always just loved taking care of people,” Dickerson said.