Runnin’ Wild: Christy Belcher ’03

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Christy Belcher_030AChristy Belcher wrapped her arms around the newborn giraffe much like she did a foal during her field training at Clemson. Belcher had arrived at the Greenville Zoo early Feb. 2 after receiving a 5 a.m. phone call. Initially, she ignored the call, thinking she was hitting snooze on her alarm. The phone rang again. She sprang awake, now realizing what was happening. The zoo’s female giraffe, Autumn, was giving birth to her third calf.
Adrenaline racing, Belcher hurried through the dark and fog to the downtown Greenville Zoo. When she arrived, Autumn was standing in her stall, in the early stages of labor. Tatu, a boy, was born at 6:16 a.m.
“Those few moments of watching for the baby to take its first breath seemed like an eternity to me,” Belcher said. “Once I saw it breathing I felt much better about it.”
Tatu was standing within an hour.
“We’ve had a lot of sleepless nights, but it’s well worth it,” Belcher said.
A 2003 graduate of Clemson’s Animal and Veterinary Sciences program, Belcher has been a veterinarian at the Greenville Zoo since 2009. An Easley native, she was always fond of animals. As a child, she would sneak turtles and snakes into her home against her mother’s wishes.
Belcher’s training with livestock on the research farms at Clemson would serve her well as she transitioned to a career working with the 350 exotic animals at the Greenville Zoo.
“The giraffes receive the same vaccines that we use in horses and cows,” she said. “The vaccine that my cat at home gets is the same rabies vaccine that our leopards and lions get.”
After Clemson, Belcher studied in the Caribbean and at North Carolina State University and Texas A&M University. At the Greenville Zoo, Belcher helped design the first Winter Zoo Vet Camp and collaborated with Clemson’s Animal and Veterinary Science department to design a pre-veterinary science summer internship eligible for college credit.
“Everyone asks me, ‘How do you know how to work on a giraffe?’ It really did start with my training and education at Clemson, just being out on the farms with the horses, with the cows, with the goats and the sheep,” Belcher said. “I like to tell people to always embrace the education [you] are getting at Clemson because you never know what that’s going to prepare you for.”


http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXwUMquS9Yo

Construction begins on football operations facility

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New Football facilityGround was broken in November for a new football complex that is expected to open in early 2017. The new 140,000 square foot, $55 million project, located next to the indoor practice facility and existing practice fields, will be financed completely by the athletic department
and IPTAY, including $19.5 million of athletic revenue bonds, along with private support.
“We are very excited and appreciative about this new day-to-day home of our program,” said Coach Dabo Swinney. “This complex will be one of the best in the nation and will allow us to continue our pursuit to be among the best programs in the country. We look forward to it being the home of Clemson football for a very long time.”
Coach Swinney describes the new complex as the “epitome of Clemson: fun, special and the best in the country.” To that end, one of the goals of the facility is to provide members of the football program and visitors with a unique Clemson experience. In addition to an indoor replica of the Hill and Howard’s Rock, the facility will include a career development and leadership center, a players’ lounge, locker rooms, training/rehab facility, weight room, nutrition center and dining facility, meeting rooms, coaches’ offices and a first-of-its-kind recruiting war room.
“This project will be a huge step forward not only for our football program but for each of our sports,” Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich said. “We’ve begun studies on how best to utilize the WestZone to most effectively impact each of our student-athletes, and we sincerely appreciate the support of IPTAY and all of our donors who will make this new complex a reality.”


 

Alumni Authors

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Clemson Tigers can be found in every profession, and many are published authors. Here is a short, but not exhaustive, list of alumni authors and some of their books that may pique your interest.

Scott AbellaScott Abella M ’02
Conserving America’s National Parks (CreateSpace) shares the status of conservation challenges and successes in America’s 408 national parks.
 
 
JohnSeketaJohn Seketa HA ’13
Clemson Through the Eyes of the Tiger (John106Publishing) documents the grit and sweat that goes into becoming the Clemson Tiger mascot. More than 70 people have donned the suit that brings stadiums of cheering fans to their feet each season.
 

McCarty.Hubbard.QuisenberryBert McCarty ’81, PhD ’86; L. Ray Hubbard Jr. ’82, ’83, PhD ’13; Virgil Quisenberry, professor emeritus of soil physics
Applied Soil Physical Properties, Drainage, and Irrigation Strategies (Springer). This practical guide aims to demystify the complicated math used in soil physics formulas.
 

Whittle_Growing Up ClemsonJerry Whittle ’79
Growing up in Clemson: Blessed in the Fifties (Amazon Digital Services) details the experiences of growing up in a small college town from 1950-1960.
 
 

Robert ElderRobert Elder ’03, M ’05
The Sacred Mirror: Evangelicalism, Honor, and Identity in the Deep South, 1790-1860 (University of North Carolina Press) challenges the traditional interpretations of the rise of evangelicals in the South, including in the Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian denominations.
 

David DownsDavid J. Downs ’99
Alms: Charity, Reward, and Atonement in Early Christianity (Baylor University Press) looks at how care for the poor was also an atonement for sin in early Christianity.
 
 

Bradley_Wilderness and DisasterDavid E. Bradley M ’88
Wilderness and Disaster Survival Guide (self published) tackles survival scenarios from animal dangers to natural and man-made disasters.
 
 
 
WOODWALKEREmily Benson Martin ’10 M ’12
Woodwalker (HarperCollins) is an epic fantasy about the adventures of Mae who is exiled from her home and her people. As Mae embarks on her own, she comes across three out-of-place strangers and risks death to help a deposed queen regain her throne. Read an excerpt here.

Stuckey celebrates 100th birthday with help from local Clemson club

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Print 100th Birthday -70Al Stuckey ’36 of Hickory, N.C., hit an important milestone on October 31, and his family, friends and the Clemson family made sure it was celebrated in style. Stuckey, who holds the record for the living alumnus with the most consecutive years of giving to Clemson (currently at 81 years), turned 100 this year, and he did it surrounded by neighbors, friends, four generations of family and members of the Catawba Valley Clemson Club.
Before the evening was over, Stuckey had received the key to the city of Hickory, danced to “Tiger Rag” and joined in the Cadence Count. He was presented a football and framed Tiger Rag (both signed by Dabo Swinney), honored by the Catawba Valley Chapter of the Military Officers’ Association of America and serenaded by a local bluegrass band, the SugarLoaf Ramblers.
Kingston Residence, where Stuckey lives, hosted the party, coordinating with the Catawba Valley Clemson Club and his daughter Stephanie Chenault. A number of local alumni attended, including Adam Weeks ’73 (club president) and two members of the Class of 1950, Herman Smith and Theo Monroe. Kay Dodd ’78 led a club committee that helped with the event.
A resident of Hickory since 1962, Stuckey served 20 years in the military, including service in World War II and Korea. He taught high school for 24 years, and moved to Kingston in 2009 where, according to his daughter Stephanie, he loves to watch the Tigers play on TV with fellow alum Alex Corpening ’60, sing, dance, play his harmonica and lead everyone in his version of “Tiger Rag.”
Click on below for more pictures from the celebration.
 

Alumni Association names Jim Bull Volunteer of the Year

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Jim Bull (left) receives the Volunteer of the Year award from Wil Brasington, executive director of Alumni Relations.

Jim Bull (left) receives the Volunteer of the Year award from Wil Brasington, executive director of Alumni Relations.


The  Alumni Association has honored Jim Bull of Chapin with the 2015 Frank Kellers III Volunteer of the Year Award, the highest and greatest expression of appreciation extended to an individual by the Alumni Association staff for outstanding service and volunteerism. Bull’s many contributions to the Alumni Association include serving as a multi-year officer for the Lexington County Clemson Club and volunteering with the Columbia Tigertown Bound Reception and the Lexington Prowl & Growl. Bull also is an IPTAY representative and chairs both the student engagement committee and marketing committee for the Board of Visitors. In the past year, he chaired the Columbia high school reception for students applying to Clemson and participated in nearly every student sendoff.
The Alumni Association has presented the Frank Kellers III Volunteer of the Year Award since 1988 to recognize individuals who have a passion for service and building the Clemson family. The award is named for Frank Kellers III ’57, longtime leader of the Northern California Clemson Club and tireless supporter of Clemson clubs around the world.

Marilyn-Thompson

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Working with words: Marilyn Walser Thompson ’74

Marilyn Walser Thompson is no stranger to breaking news. From being the first reporter who revealed the existence of Strom Thurmond’s biracial daughter in 2003, to editing reporters’ pieces that went on to win two Pulitzer Prizes, Thompson’s background with the major news players led her to being named a Joan Shorenstein fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School.
As one of eight annual recipients, she’ll research where tax dollars head when taxpayers donate money to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund.
“It’s highly relevant because of the 2016 race. I’m looking at the financing for presidents put in place after the 1970s,” she said. “The pace of modern campaigning — and to be in an ultra competitive race – means this fund is no longer relevant [to candidates.] No one wants to use it because you have to agree to restrictions.”
Thompson’s fellowship and reporting will look into how candidates who have used the fund spent the money and if the fund should still exist.
“It’s an exciting challenge — and a frightening challenge — moving back into writing because I’m an editor, and I work on other people’s stories. Generating all the information through reporting, it’s a different skillset,” she said. “It’s a great step in anyone’s career to take a step back and say, ‘Can I do that?’ ‘Will I provide anything useful people want to read?’”
Thompson’s reportage started in The Tiger newsroom where she began by selling advertising before jumping to reporter and eventually becoming the managing editor.
“It was the ’70s and The Tiger was this scrappy, liberal, anti-war publication,” she said. “I was this meek little freshman. I was so happy to be at college because I didn’t think I would get to go. I remember vividly being really dressed up — in a dress and heels — and it was like nine flights of stairs to the top of the horrible dorm to get to The Tiger meeting. I get up there in my prissy dress and heels and it’s like a hippy haven. I looked like an idiot because I thought I actually had to dress up!”
Once she kicked the heels and changed her major to English, Thompson settled into the newsroom atmosphere for life. Her career has taken her from local coverage at The Greenville News to national politics with The Washington Post, Reuters and Politico.
“I do look at things differently than most people,” she said about her career. “That probably goes back to my childhood and the influence of my father — the counter-intuitive Archie Bunker type. He didn’t trust anything or anybody.”
Thompson’s fellowship research will be out this May, as well as featured in future Politico publishing.

Telling the tales that make Clemson unique — and Solid Orange

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Kara Robertson_012In Death Valley, a knitted tiger hat crowns one fan’s head. The student has painted a giant Tiger paw on her face, the only interruption on it being her giant smile. A camera click later, she will be a face of Clemson as part of an admissions brochure. She will show her Clemson spirit to thousands of prospective Tigers.
It’s a spirit that spoke to at least one. Kara Robertson received that brochure as a junior in high school. Before then, the Charlotte native had never heard much of Clemson. But when she saw that girl, Clemson became her number one choice. “She looked so happy. I told myself,
‘I want to be her, and I want to be there, at Clemson,’” Robertson said.
Four years later, Robertson has, in a way, become the girl in the Tiger hat: She is a voice of Clemson to future students. Not only has she been a front row fan at football games with her own face painted like a Tiger, she has spent her college career telling the Clemson story.
Since her second semester, Robertson has worked as a writer for Creative Services, which creates and manages much of Clemson’s marketing and branding materials. Intimidated when she first heard about it, she almost didn’t apply, but a deeper connection with the position changed her mind.
“I found out that the office also manages the admissions material. I told myself, ‘All right, you’re doing Creative Services,’” Robertson said. Eventually, her writing position became part of Clemson’s UPIC on-campus internship program. While her responsibilities occasionally include writing copy for brochures like the one she received, she mainly writes stories for the University’s website. She has also written for this magazine.
Her mentor throughout the internship has been Crystal Bennett, the University’s Web content developer. Bennett works with Robertson and other interns on developing their writing by encouraging creative critical thinking. Based on her experiences with Creative Services — and especially because of how much she has valued Bennett’s mentorship — Robertson thinks every student should have an opportunity at an on-campus internship.
But it’s Robertson’s uniquely Clemson persona that makes her such a good voice for Clemson. Like any good fan, Robertson is “All In” for her team. She carries an orange backpack and has a closet full of orange shirts. She’s never missed a home football game, and when students camped out for tickets, she was always out there with a tent. Her passion isn’t limited to the field; she also goes all out for basketball games and other sporting events.
She does more than cheer for her Tigers, though: She learns about real ones too. A former member of the Tigers for Tigers (T4T) organization, which seeks to protect and care for tigers in the wild, she went to India over spring break with a biodiversity class led by the faculty organizer of T4T.
She will be graduating in May with a double major in communication studies and English, then headed off to a job as a Web copywriter and website designer at an agency in Charlotte, N.C., where she’ll be working with telecom companies on digital marketing campaigns. But for all of her accomplishments outside of her job and her future in bigger markets, Robertson is extremely proud of her work as an undergrad.
“I love Clemson so much, and I’m honored to tell the stories of the students here,” said Robertson. “I hope that I’ve shared stories that make people love Clemson more.”
Note: This story was written by Leah VanSyckel, another member of the Class of 2016.