FMU McNair Scholar gives back through summer program
Summer is typically down time for most college students.
Kennedy Glasgow, a sophomore at Francis Marion University who’s majoring in Nursing, isn’t a typical college student.
Glasgow (’20) dedicated most of her down time this summer to the “Summer Institute for Smarties” (SYS), an elementary-age tutoring program that she and some friends created in an effort to give back to her hometown of Newberry, S.C.
The SYS program, says Glasgow, is designed to combat summer learning loss, a problem that bedevils students and educators nationwide. Summer learning loss is a well-known phenomenon that refers to the dissipation of retained knowledge after school ends in June. It can lead to a slow start to the next school year, and even to a regression of knowledge.
Students may find themselves woefully under-prepared to begin the new school year, which means valuable instruction time is spent on review and catch-up.
SYS offered a partial remedy for that — and for the general summer lassitude that can plague kids.
“We know how summers can be. There’s not a lot to do,” Glasgow says.
Glasgow has discovered SYS didn’t just help the kids attending it.
“I think it’s helped a lot with developing skills I’ll use in my career,” she says. “I’ve gotten really good at communication, organization and being able to anticipate potential issues. Being able to work one-on-one with people has improved my bedside manner as well.”
Detrek Browning stayed true to FMU and became the school’s all-time leading scorer
In an early January game against Clayton State, Detrek Browning waited calmly behind the three-point line while teammate Brandon Parker battled for a loose ball in the lane. Eventually, Parker swatted the ball towards Browning, who gathered it in, paused to set himself and casually flipped in a three-pointer that etched his name into a prominent place in the FMU record books. With that relatively unremarkable basket, Browning became something quite remarkable — the leading career scorer in the school’s almost 50-year-old history.
That the record-setter came on a routine play is not surprising. Browning’s calling card as a player is his ability to score, seemingly without effort; to make a unique ability to find ways to put ball basket appear quite ordinary.
What was remarkable about the play is that Browning was around to do it at all.
FMU Basketball standout Detrek Browning
The dynamics of college basketball at all levels have changed dramatically in the past decade. Players move regularly and easily from school to school, looking for the next bit of slightly greener grass; and there is not much hard-working coaches and schools can do about it. Their path is fraught with peril.
Bring a player along too slowly and he will leave for a situation where he can play/shoot/start more often. But, bring them along too quickly, develop them too well – and this is especially true for programs at Division II schools like FMU — and bigger schools will come calling. They can’t recruit a player, per se, until he puts his name on the NCAA’s official transfer list (which numbers each year in the thousands) but word gets around. Pssst. If your name is on that list. …
After he averaged 20.1 points a game for FMU in 2015-16, officially his sophomore season, word got around to Browning. There were schools out there – Division I schools – who were interested. And Browning knew the drill. Friends, foes, even some of his teammates, had gone that route.
“I was hearing from a few people,” Browning says, “and people were in my ear, telling me to go, that this was my big chance. But …”
But?
Browning shakes his head, shrugs his shoulders. The big decision, he says, was really no decision at all.
“Man, after all (FMU) has done for me … I mean, they were there for me when no one else was,” says Browning. “And the people here have always been great. This is where I belong. I wasn’t going anywhere. I guess maybe coach was worried, but I wasn’t leaving. “
Gary Edwards, Browning’s coach at FMU, admits to some nervousness during the spring in question. But those days are long past now and recalling them now brings a smile to Edwards’ face.
“Detrek’s done a lot of neat things here, made a lot of big plays, and he’ll always be one of my favorites,” says Edwards, “but if you ask me what I’ll remember most that’s it. It’s that loyalty that Detrek showed. That’s a rare quality. It’s better than all those points he scored.”
Things happen
Maybe Detrek Browning never should have wound up at FMU in the first place.
He wasn’t exactly a secret coming out of Irmo (S.C.) High School, just north of Columbia. Irmo, led by legendary coach Tim Whipple, is one of the premier high school basketball programs in South Carolina and Detrek Browning did nothing during his time with the Yellowjackets to lessen that.
Browning played three varsity seasons at Irmo and helped the team win two state championships. In his senior year Irmo went 29-0 — Whipple’s only unbeaten squad in 37 years at the helm — and captured Whipple’s fifth state title.
Browning may not have been — may being the key word — the best player on a team that also included University of South Carolina recruit Justin McKie. But he wasn’t a secret. He was receiving significant recruiting attention by his junior year and had a number of Division I programs giving him long looks.
But … things happened. One program that seemed like a sure thing signed another guard and never called Browning again. Another changed coaches. And so on.
Whipple says it was clear to him — then and now — that Browning belonged on a Division I roster.
“Oh, there’s no doubt that the could play at that level,” says Whipple. “But you know, coaches look at things … it’s tough. He (Browning) was a little small maybe, kind of got in that in-between thing position wise. Was he a point guard or a shooting guard? He didn’t play much point for us until his senior year. But maybe he’s a little small for a D-I shooting guard, maybe he’s not that fast … So …”
So, early that year, one Edwards’ assistants at FMU saw Browning play and suggested the Patriots make a run at him. Edwards saw him and quickly agreed — “best point guard I saw all year,” Edwards said.
Edwards found out Browning’s recruiting had taken a funny turn and put on the full court press. When Browning came for his official visit, Edwards offered him a full scholarship on the spot.
Browning held out for a little while, waiting for the “better” offer that never came. Eventually his own good sense — all who know him see him as an extremely well-grounded person — and a little hectoring from his mom made him a Patriot.
“I kept thinking, ‘maybe a bigger school will offer me something,’” Browning says. “Meanwhile, mom is saying, ‘are you crazy? They’re offering you a full scholarship. They really want you. You know what? She was right.”
Red-shirt tears
One more test remained.
Though a polished player for a freshman, Browning arrived on the FMU campus to find Evrik Gary — the number three scorer in school history — already ensconced in the point guard role. Edwards and the Patriot staff persuaded Browning that the thing to do was sit out — redshirt is the term — his freshman season, just as Gary had done.
The move made sense, but it’s easier said than done. Redshirts spend all the practice time that regular players do but don’t get to play in the games, can’t even travel with the team to away contests.
“You’re really on your own a lot of times and have to stay focused to keep working on things, getting better, on your own,” says Browning. “That’s a good thing. There’s a lot to get used to moving from high school to college. It helped with basketball, with school, with everything. I tell everyone now ‘Redshirt. That’s the way to do it. It’s the best thing I’ve ever done.’ But it’s not easy. I’ll have to say there were a few nights where a few tears were shed. “
Conserving energy
One point — not the first point, but a point all the same — that Browning would make about his game, about the way he plays basketball is that he can dunk the ball.
“Most definitely,” says Browning. “I actually have two dunks in games (at FMU). I guess there could have been more — fans would like it — but it’s not something I was ever that excited about. A bucket is a bucket. I’d rather conserve my energy.”
Good at energy conservation. Now there’s a line that doesn’t show up on many scouting reports. But that aspect of Detrek Browning, basketball player, says about as much about his game as any. He glides around the court, under control, moving from place to place — moving from the right place to the right place — with a studied nonchalance that lulls opponents, fans and even his own coach into a state of disinterest.
“He’s one of those guys,” says FMU’s Edwards, “where you pick up the stat sheet afterwards and you say, ’Twenty-five points? How’d he do that? I didn’t see that.’ He’s very, very smooth.”
Browning’s chief skill is an absolute intangible. He has innate understanding of the game that allows him to see plays before they develop.
“It doesn’t just happen,” explains Browning. “I’ve had some very good coaches. And I do think about all the plays. I just think about them five or 10 seconds before they happen.”
Which is five or 10 (or more) seconds ahead of most.
Speed, shooting kill
The awards and honors are piling up fast in Browning’s final season. He’s been the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week four times (through January), set the FMU single game scoring mark (41 points) in early January and is clearly poised to post-season accolades as well.
It’s all well-deserved, but still surprising all the same for Browning seldom looks like the best athlete on the floor. The 6-0, 180-pounder is a little stocky as basketball players go, and doesn’t have the chiseled musculature of some. His two dunks aside, he is not a great leaper, and he’s probably not the fastest guy around either, although as dozens of oft-burned Peach Belt Conference foes would attest, he is plenty fast enough.
Browning comes from a very athletic family. His mom (Carlissa), various uncles and aunts and cousins all played college sports. His brother is a good bit heavier than Detrek, “but can still beat me in a race. He can fly.
“My uncle (Milton Kershaw) who played football in college and is just crazy fast, taught me early on that speed kills,” says Browning. “It’s the most important part of most sports. But it’s not necessarily who is fastest. It’s who can be fast when they need to be.”
Browning is a fine defender (he will finish his career among FMU’s all-time leader in steals, too), but what sets him apart are his offensive skills. In Browning’s mind — a good place to start for analyzing basketball — the key skill is shooting. He has simple mechanics and feel for the shot that came to him almost from the moment he took up the game — he hit a long buzzer beater to win the championship game in his first year of organized basketball at age 12.
“If you can shoot the basketball, I mean really shoot it, you are basically unguardable,” Browning says. “Try to stop the shot and it’s a fake and I’m by you for a pull up (jumper) or a layup. Try to stop that and …. “
His voice trails off. Another basketball thought has popped into a mind that processes such information at an astonishing rate.
“It’s always amazing to me the number of basketball players — Division I players — really can’t shoot,” says Browning. “That’s kind of the point of the game isn’t it?”
The Gary plan
Browning plans to follow in the footsteps of his former teammate Gary and play basketball professionally for as long as he can. Gary has been on an oddball world tour since he left FMU — Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Dubuque, Iowa and now, Cyprus — but he’s got a suitcase full of memorable experiences and … he’s still playing. The dream is still alive.
Browning understands. He knows he can play at a very high level and is eager to prove it, even if that means traveling some strange roads and learning even greater patience.
Whenever that is done, Browning suspects his long-term future lies … in coaching. He’s a Dean’s List student who’ll graduate in May with a degree in Psychology, and reservoir of knowledge that he thinks will translate nicely in that field.
“I seem to have a pretty good understanding of basketball,” says Browning. “I think that (coaching) could work out.”
Indeed.
HR major wasn’t just a number at FMU
College is about taking the next step into adulthood, about finding a meaningful career path and maybe about making a few hard choices.
For instance, when choosing a field of study, head often bumps into heart.
Francis Marion University’s Garrett Fuller faced just that conundrum as he headed towards his senior year. Fuller, a Manning, S.C. native, is a published poet and playwright and the editor of Francis Marion’s poetry review magazine The Snow Island Review, has always loved writing.
“That’s the road I’ve gone down,” he says. “I’m constantly writing.”
But Fuller has also been down enough roads to know that writing can be a tough way to earn living. So he came to FMU ready to apply himself to obtaining a degree in business, specifically in human resources management. His thinking — there will always been people to manage and jobs for those who can do that — wasn’t poetic. It was very practical.
If left Fuller torn, however. While he excelled at business, he still loved to write, enjoyed that field as an academic pursuit. Could his college career somehow accommodate both?
With some help from Dr. Rebecca Flannagan, chair of the FMU Department of English, Fuller found that it could.
Working with Flannagan and his advisor, Associate Professor of Management Dr. Regina Yanson, Fuller managed to put together a schedule his last year at FMU that allowed him to major in business and minor in creative writing. Flannagan even used her own time to supervise Fuller in an independent study course he needed to achieve the writing minor.
“It’s just very moving that (my professors) would all would do the things I needed.” Fuller said “I would’ve expected that at a college like this, I would become a number instead of a name and get lost in the crowd of thousands of students, when in reality, the opposite actually occurred. I still have a name and the professors know me…”
Her engineering foray took a “leap of faith”
High school students often have only the vaguest idea of a career they’d like to pursue as they enter college. Options are many. Decisions are difficult.
Taylor Watson, a member of Francis Marion University’s spring 2019 graduating class, was no different than most. The Lamar, S.C. native had excelled in math in high school and figured numbers would play some role in her future.
But what role and in what major?
FMU 2019 graduate Taylor Watson sits in a lab.
After some research and thought, Watson put her trust in a couple of FMU professors. Today’s she’s a sparkling example of a student who navigated the career exploration aspect of college with ease and success. She’s leaving FMU with a degree in Industrial Engineering and is looking forward to her first job — an engineer with Georgia-Pacific.
“I just took a leap of faith,” Watson says.
The leap meant jumping into a field that was not only new to her, but one where women are a distinct minority. Women account for roughly three out every 10 IE, according to DataUSA.
“If you’re a girl, don’t be afraid to go into the engineering field,” says Watson. “Sometimes, as a woman, you have more opportunities to go in and make changes … Maybe it’s not a field that women typically go into, but don’t let that hold you back.”
Watson’s FMU career turned after she met with a female industrial engineer — Dr. Lorna Cintron-Gonzalez, coordinator of the FMU Industrial Engineering program.
“I told ‘Dr. G.’ this (industrial engineering) is what I want to do,” she says. “(Dr. Gonzalez) advised me to do a little bit more research, but I was back in her office later that day.”
Watson says she instantly fell in love with the field. And, the field loved her back.
Watson landed a number of a internships during her FMU career, including one with General Electric in Florence. That experience in particular helped her grow comfortable with her newly chosen field.
“I had a lot of time to get to know the guys on the floor and figure out how to communicate with them from an engineering standpoint,” she says. “That’s kind of a complicated thing to do. To go from sitting at a desk saying, ‘This is going to work,’ to actually making it work in real life is not easy.”
FMU math major ready to step into teaching
Francis Marion University has long served as the backbone of teacher education in the Pee Dee and the state.
Now, as South Carolina wrestles with an increasing shortage of teachers, especially in critical specialties, FMU is once again stepping to the fore.
FMU has added new certification programs for biology and history majors in recent years to encourage more students into teaching careers. Older programs like math and English continue to be fruitful as demonstrated by students like Kaitlyn Lowry, a math major who also earned her teaching certificate.
Lowry excelled at math and chose that discipline for her major. But she always had an eye on a teaching career. She says the new certificate programs left her math itch satisfied while also allowing her to feel prepared as she begins her teaching career.
“The program gave me a full experience of what it’s like to be a teacher,” Lowry says. “I’ve had great professors, great cooperating teachers, and great student. I feel very prepared. I’ve had a great experience.”
The math certification program gives Lowry certification to teach middle-level and secondary level math, meaning she can teach students in 5th through 12th grade. Both those career areas are in high demand nationwide, and Lowry has had plenty of job opportunities. After sifting through some possibilities, Lowry decided to return to her alma mater, South Florence High School, to teach. She’ll begin her career teaching algebra.
“Returning back to teach with some of my old teachers is going to be really cool,” she says. “Some of my teachers at South Florence are the reason I first wanted to be a teacher, so going back as a teacher is exciting.”
Lowry says she eventually plans to return to college to obtain a graduate degree. Until then, she plans to enjoy her time leading in the classroom and helping fill a real need.
“I’ve had so many great experiences in teaching already,” she says. “I’m looking forward to many more.”
Zach Greenwood, Lauren Gainey are the University’s first Nursing students to graduate with University Honors
The Nursing Program at Francis Marion University is no stranger to talented, driven students. But there’s a little something different about two Spring 2018 graduates.
Lauren Gainey and Zachary Greenwood are the first students to graduate with Nursing degrees and with University Honors.
FMU students must complete 21 semester hours of Honors courses with a minimum GPA of 3.25 to graduate with University Honors. It’s difficult — obviously, no one has done it yet — to do that while carrying the already rigorous course load of the Nursing program, which includes practicum hours in local hospitals and medical practices.
“This was something I set out to do when I came to Francis Marion,” Greenwood says. “It wasn’t easy but I’m happy I did it.”
Gainey says she didn’t realize they were the first Nursing students to complete the Honors program until a few professors told her.
“It took me by surprise,” she says. “It’s a really big honor and I’m excited about it.”
Because of their similar paths, Gainey and Greenwood at FMU have spent many hours together at FMU. They relied on each other for support in their honors endeavor.
That connection will continue, in a fashion, after graduation. Both will begin their careers at McLeod Health. Gainey will work on the Nephrology floor; Greenwood in the Coronary Intensive Care Unit. And both plan to continue their studies in graduate school.
Greenwood will start at the Medical University of South Carolina this fall. Gainey says she plans to work for a few years before going to graduate school.
Both plan to pursue doctorates in Nursing.
And, both could see themselves coming back to FMU one day to teach.
“I know I want to teach one day, and I definitely want to come back to FMU to do that,” says Gainey.
Says Greenwood, “Being a professor at Francis Marion would be great. I’d love to get my feet wet with teaching, then work my way up in the department.”
Aaron Robinson
Anticipation
The azteca ant of South America and the Cecropia tree get along just fine.
The tree tolerates a nest of ants living inside its trunk, and the ants, in appreciation, rush to defend the tree whenever it’s attacked.
The relationship may seem improbable, but Aaron Robinson (’17) has seen it with his own eyes at Francis Marion University’s Wildsumaco Research Station in the wilds of the Ecuadorian Andes.
“These big hairy caterpillars were starting the eat the leaves (of the tree) and here came the ants, charging up the trunk,” says Robinson. “It’s fascinating to watch. They (the ants and the tree) are tight.”
Inspired by his trip to Wildsumaco, and his four-year journey through the wilds of the FMU Biology Department, Robinson is now headed towards a career in entomology. Next stop: a summer internship with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, then, graduate school at Towson State University, whose Biodiversity Center hosts one of the largest collection of insect specimens on the East Coast.
Opportunities like Wildsumaco, and professors who served as both guides and role models, made all the difference, Robinson says.
“I wouldn’t be where I am if I hadn’t been at FMU,” he says. “It was a great relationship.”
Everybody needs to be tight with someone.
Briana Burgins
She was feeling it
The first time Briana Burgins set foot on the campus of Francis Marion, she knew she was in the right place.
It was the week after spring commencement, so there weren’t many people around.
It was quiet.
It was peaceful.
It was home.
“That may sound like a funny thing to say, but that’s the way it felt,” says Burgins (’18). “I had this feeling right away. Maybe it was the way it looked. Maybe it was the people… I felt comfortable. I could see myself there, being successful.”
Three years later Burgins’ feeling has turned to reality. The rising senior from High Point, N.C. is a Dean’s List student majoring in Biology with collaterals in both Chemistry and Spanish. She’s a Patriot Mentor in FMU’s new Center for Academic Success and Achievement, a star on the women’s basketball team, and a young woman who is very much at home.
Jeffrey Tucker
Mission accomplished
In life, there are many ways to get from point a to point b. The same can be said of a career in the military. There are multitudes of ways to go from civilian to an officer in the field.
Jeffrey Tucker took one of the more difficult approaches, but one that he knows has paid off.
As one of the top cadets in Francis Marion University’s ROTC program, Tucker was commissioned as an active-duty officer in the U.S. Army after graduating. Quite the rare accomplishment.
For four years, Tucker lived his life dedicated to his goal of graduating college and becoming an active-duty officer in the U.S. Army. Pushing himself physically with morning runs at 5 a.m., and mentally, eventually graduating as one of the top students in his class.
It wasn’t easy, but with the help of FMU, Tucker took his dream of becoming an officer in the U.S. Army and made it a reality. For those following in his footsteps, the path has been cleared. It’s a matter of deciding to go from point a to point b.
Kellis
Undergrad with upper level research
It’s uncommon at most universities for undergraduate students to participate in high-level research.
It’s even rarer for that lowliest of undergrads, the freshman, to partake in real research, much less be allowed to design a study and present their findings at international conference.
But, that’s just what happened to Devin Kellis (‘17) while he was at Francis Marion University. During his first year on campus Kellis, a double major in Psychology and Biology, devised a project looking into spatial recognition, and with the help of his professors, was able to have his work accepted for presentation at national conferences in Chicago and Boston.
“If you have a real interest in research,” Kellis says, “FMU definitely offers you the ability to design interesting and useful studies.”
Kellis says his FMU experiences enhanced his interest in his chosen field and propelled him to graduate school. He hopes to one day teach at a university or perform research on a full-time basis.
Christian Brunetti
Best supporting role: Francis Marion University
Special forces soldier.
Overseas deployment in the thick of the action.
Some honest-to-goodness war wounds.
Back home, finally, but with life still moving fast. Marriage, kids, back to college …
… and then there is the whole Acting/Hollywood thing. A bit part in Army Wives, and then some consulting stuff. Stunt man, stunt coach, more parts, produce a film and another bit part, but this one a bit of something big: Netflix’s House of Cards.
It’s been a whirlwind for Christian Brunetti (’17) but he made it through, thanks to a constant: friends and faculty at FMU.
“I guess it could have happened somewhere else,” says Brunetti, “but this place (FMU) is pretty special. You do feel like you’re part of a family … or maybe it’s better than that. Everyone always wants to help.”
Kathleen Kennebeck
Oh, snap: FMU photography grad blazes her own path
After graduating from Francis Marion, Kathleen Kennebeck had a plan for her future.
No real surprise there. She’s been putting that plan into practice since she was a freshman honors student at FMU.
Kennebeck (’16) has developed her skills a photographer by working weddings and assorted freelance assignments since her first year in college. This has allowed her to take one of her passions and turn it into a real business.
That might not have happened, says Kennebeck, if not for a freshman Honors class with Dr. Kay Lawrimore. That class changed her thinking about photography, turning it from hobby to profession.
“Being a photographer, marketing is such a huge part of what you do, so as a new student Dr. Lawrimore (who teaches Marketing in FMU’s School of Business) really helped me and took me under her wing,” she says. “It really helped with my understanding of how to manage a business.”
Kennebeck is now the owner of her own small business. She travels extensively, shooting for various media outlets, photographing weddings and more.
Four-Headed Editor
Extra, Extra! Four-headed Editor gets involved, leads student paper
Great leaders are born, not made, right?
Sure, but there has to be a place for those leaders-to-be to flex their muscles and try out their budding skills. They need opportunity.
At a great big university, it might be awhile before they hear that knock. Their door, after all, is just one of many.
At a more reasonably sized place – a place like Francis Marion University, for instance – opportunities abound for those who want them.
Take the case of four bright young women who all arrived at FMU at about the same time. Rebecca Cross (’17), Rebekah Davis (’17), Rachel Droze Ankers (’17) and Lauren Owens (’18) all had an interest in journalism (and, as it turns out, a whole lot more). For the past four years all of them have served, at one time or another, as Editor of The Patriot, FMU’s student newspaper.
They’ve helped turn The Patriot into an award-winning journal and they’ve had a blast doing it.
“One of the nice things about working for the newspaper is that it puts you in touch with all kinds of groups and people on campus,” says Davis. “It’s like you’re in every group.”
It really is like that. When not busy cranking out stories and pages, one or more individuals in the Patriot’s four-headed editorial quartet belonged to FMU’s Student Diplomats, FMU Honors, Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, the Baptist College Ministry, worked in the Writing Center, tutored in the Tutoring Center, wrote for the Snow Island Review, traveled overseas and completed internships.
“We might have done that somewhere else,” says Cross, “but I doubt it. The opportunity is here if you want it.”
Baron Davis
A man (finally) with a plan
There was one point in his life where Dr. Baron Davis (‘95) was unsure of what he wanted to do with his life or what he would become.
That was 20 years ago.
Back when he was a student at Francis Marion University.
There’s no question today. The 46-year-old Davis is the superintendent elect of Richland School District 2 in Columbia – one of the largest school districts in the state, a fast-mover in the world of public education with a bright future ahead of him.
Ironically, Davis says he wouldn’t be where he is today without those uncertain times of days gone by. Yes, he was adrift academically at FMU, but he was making progress all the same. If the classroom wasn’t quite his thing, it was evident to Davis and others that – somehow, some way, some day – he was going places.
“I really didn’t have a lot of plans (while in college),” says Davis. “I kind of fluctuated around, here and there. (But) I was provided with a foundation of skills and knowledge that as I progressed through my career has really helped. (And FMU) also provided a great support system… They allowed me to make mistakes and recover from those mistakes.”
Renata Cumbee
Reaching for a supernova
Peering into the murky, almost impenetrable history of the universe, Dr. Renata Cumbee (‘10) discovered her future.
She took her first peek while working on her undergraduate degree at FMU.
Cumbee is a physicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center where she researches supernova remnants in the Cygnus constellation. She might be somewhere else — somewhere light years away — if not for the special attention she received as a lowly college freshman a decade or so ago. Back then she was just like a lot of students: shy and unsure of her place.
FMU professors helped her find it.
“I had hours of one-on-one time with professors any day that I needed it,” says Cumbee. “For someone who’s not confident in a subject, and not sure if they want to continue with that subject, that can be the biggest benefit. Having someone show you what it means to be a researcher in physics or to study that subject is important.”
Cumbee went on to earn her advanced degrees and now her position at Goddards. She’s learned a lot along the way, but the biggest lesson may be that if you’re going reach for the stars it’s great to have a helping hand.
Matt Bonds
Food for thought in a hungry world
There’s a great big hungry world out there and FMU grad Matt Bonds (’98) is doing his best to feed it.
Bonds, who holds double doctorates in Economics and Ecology, has spent the early part of his career working with non-profits in Kenya, Rwanda and now, Madagascar, to solve large problems like hunger and poverty by attacking their root causes.
Bonds is a gifted young man and came across the many talents he brings to that work naturally, but much of his passion for his “mission” was acquired at Francis Marion University. Nurturing professors who cared about their work — and about their students — helped Bonds find meaningful academic projects, and provided him with some role models as well.
“I was very affected by the sense of being around so many people (in the FMU faculty) who seemed to committed to their fields,” says Bonds.
Summer is typically down time for most college students.
The azteca ant of South America and the Cecropia tree get along just fine.
The first time Briana Burgins set foot on the campus of Francis Marion, she knew she was in the right place.
It’s uncommon at most universities for undergraduate students to participate in high-level research.
Special forces soldier.
After graduating from Francis Marion, Kathleen Kennebeck had a plan for her future.
Great leaders are born, not made, right?
There was one point in his life where Dr. Baron Davis (‘95) was unsure of what he wanted to do with his life or what he would become.
Peering into the murky, almost impenetrable history of the universe, Dr. Renata Cumbee (‘10) discovered her future.
There’s a great big hungry world out there and FMU grad Matt Bonds (’98) is doing his best to feed it.