The Berea College Alumni Association enjoys hearing from Bereans from all over the world. The “Class Notes” section of Berea College magazine reports verifiable news you wish to share with your alumni friends and associates: careers, weddings, retirements, births and other items of importance to our alumni. Please include your class year and name used while attending Berea. Notes may be edited for style and length. While we will make every effort to put your information into the next issue of BCM, some delays may occur. We appreciate your understanding.
Submit class notes and photographs here or via email: alumninews@berea.edu.
Tap or click on the arrows beside each year below to display Class Notes and photos.
1957
Roger and Mary Meece are almost 90 years old and have been married 70 years.
1960
Sylvia Barnett Johnson’s husband, Charles Johnson Jr., passed away in Detroit, Michigan on Sept. 1. They had celebrated 64 years together in August.
1962
Dr. Celia Hooper Miles announces the publication of her 12th novel “Eight Nights at the Harris Hotel.” It is set in the Scottish Outer Hebrides, and its elderly protagonist reveals a turbulent life (spanning some 70-odd years) while she and a young island girl assigned to care for her are determined to solve a murder at the remote hotel. Available on Kindle and from the author. http://celiamiles.com or celiahoopermiles@gmail.com
1964
Libby Culbreth, Dr. Celia Hooper Miles ’62 and Dr. Valerie Bauhofer ’62 met up at summer reunion 2024.
David B. Nolle co-authored an article titled Islam and ethnic tolerance: assessing Kyrgyz’ Muslim religiosity and acceptance of Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan which was published in 2024 in the academic journal Central Asian Survey. Read more.
Some of his other academic articles on topics such as Muslim religiosity, race and ethnicity, and/or statistics are listed here: https://bit.ly/3UqnuAx. Nolle lives in a Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C., and welcomes email at dbnolle@frontiernet.net
1965
Joyce Minnix Bolender continues to work part-time as a social worker and completed her third book, a book of poems called “Love is My Favorite Color.” All three of her books are on sale on Amazon.
1970
Freda Laverne Richards Cook, Fd. ’66, is a retired systems analyst, married to Sylvester Cook ’68.
1974
William L. Davis was inducted into the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame on Nov. 11, 2024 and is listed in “Marquis Who’s Who in America 2024.” His life of leadership and accomplishment began in Talladega, Ala. Read more.
1979
Dr. Elizabeth Elaine Hatton (Bradshaw) Correnti and her husband, Dr. Lawrence Correnti, had a good year in 2024. They celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary and welcomed their first grandchild. She published a book “King James Virgin: A Holiness Memoir,” about her experience growing up near Berea in a Pentecostal Holiness family. She retired from the U.S. Army in 2004 and works as a psychiatrist in the Georgia State Hospital system. She can be reached at eehcmd@outlook.com.
1985
Judge John Graham of the Jackson County Circuit was awarded Alabama State Bar’s Judicial Award of Merit at Alabama State Bar’s 147th Annual Meeting in Destin, Fla. According to the Alabama Bar Association’s website, the Judicial Award of Merit, “is not necessarily an annual award. It must be presented to a judge who is not retired, whether state or federal court, trial or appellate, who has contributed significantly to the administration of justice in Alabama.” Read more.
1987
Amy Hutchinson Zucker and her husband, James, celebrated their 34th wedding anniversary on Oct. 13, 2024. They received a post-Mass blessing from Father Baiju Paul, OSFS. Photo by Jakob Zucker.
1992
Titus Awokuse was named vice provost and dean for international studies and programs at Michigan State University. Read more.
1994
Dwayne Smith is the senior vice president of security and chief information security officer at VensureHR. He is a member of the Cyber Security Hall of Fame. Smith was also recently recognized by his peers as a Top Global CISO for 2024 from Cyber Defense Magazine. This is his second consecutive win. Smith recently spoke at Berea College’s alumni panel in November 2024. Read more.
1998
Danny and Jessica (Starcher) Burdine relocated to Ruckersville, Va., in June 2024. Danny is now director of operations at the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
2001
Nicole Black Wilson graduated with a master’s degree in clinical mental health in May 2024. She is a licensed professional counselor at a private practice in Columbus, Ohio, where she resides with her husband, David Wilson, and their three children.
2002
Regina Fugate is a doctoral candidate pursuing an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction in computer science education from the University of Florida.
2004
Lynn Patterson Klett graduated from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro on Dec. 12, 2024, with a doctoral degree in nursing practice. She works in Greensboro, N.C., as a pediatric nurse practitioner in primary care.
2005
Angela Godsey Stephens had her artwork accepted to the Team Kentucky Gallery Fall 2024 exhibit displayed July through December 2024 in the Kentucky Capitol Building. This is the second Team Kentucky Gallery exhibit to include Stephens’ work. The first was the Fall 2023 exhibit that was on display July through December 2023. Her artwork was also included in the Kentucky Arts Council’s 2024 Governor’s Derby Exhibit displayed in the Kentucky Capitol Rotunda May through July 2024. Stephens began painting in 2021 and is mostly self-taught. She enjoys painting rural Appalachian landscapes and connecting with other artists at local arts council organizations. Her artwork is shared on social media as Angela Joy Art and www.angelajoyart.com. Stephens and her husband, Jeremiah Stephens ’07, live in Berea with their two Yorkie pups, Lucy and Lilly. She has worked for the nonprofit Fahe (www.fahe.org) for more than 10 years.
Arwen Mills Careaga lives in Lexington, Ky., with her four children. She has been a licensed acupuncturist since 2012 and recently opened Revitalize Therapeutics, where she treats patients with acupuncture, cupping and other manual therapies and herbal medicine. www.revitalizelex.com
2010
DJ Swiney and his wife have been married for a little more than 12 years. Unfortunately, they lost the baby they were expecting. Swiney is still teaching special education at North Greene High School in Baileyton, Tenn.
2011
Melissa Benson has a new role as a Veterans’ Health Information Exchange (VHIE) engagement coordinator for Fordhall Technologies and her poem “Sick Day” was published by Backwoods Literary Press in their new anthology, “Discarded.” “Discarded” is a reclamation of the narrative of rural and small towns and reservations across the United States including the works of 63 artists with place-based relationships to 27 states. Informed by the front porch and the frontlines, this anthology explores the power of narrative-shaping in the face of erasure, blame and discredit. For more information visit www.backwoodsliterarypress.com
2014
BIRTH: a daughter, Roselyn Monroe Schroader, born to Ashley Thomas Schroader and husband, John
Schroader, in February 2024.
R.B. Smith released a debut novel following their career in healthcare when the pandemic hit, meeting parents in their vulnerability fighting their mental illness, and more than 20 years of lived depression. This guide will empower people with the tools to survive when life feels pointless, to thrive when life feels precious. “Pandemic depression: What to do when you don’t give a f*ck anymore”. Available at Amazon.
2016
Dr. Kaitlyn Reasoner recently published an article regarding her experience as a new resident during the COVID-19 pandemic at Vanderbilt University. It encapsulates the experiences of healthcare workers during that tragic time. Read more.
2023
Autumn Young was selected by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for the 2024 Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) International Alumni Seminar in Brazil. The seminar focuses on public and private sectors related to STEM Entrepreneurship. Entrance to the seminar was highly competitive, with 350 applicants for 50 spots.
