BW Psychology Grad Awarded Master's Assistantship

Ashely Smith '10

Recent BW graduate, Ashley Smith '15, is now working as a graduate assistant for the College of Public Health at Kent State University. While at BW, Smith combined studies in behavioral sciences and public health to essentially created a customized education in "Health Psychology," although her official major was psychology.

Smith (R) with BW professor Jen Perry on graduation day

Smith's exceptional grade point average of 3.988, combined with an impressive list of activities on and off campus during her undergraduate career, helped to land the assistantship as she pursue's a master's degree in public health with a concentration in social and behavioral sciences.

As a BW undergrad, the Berea native was especially active in BW's Psychology Department, serving as Psychology Student Research Coordinator, President of Psi Chi, Treasurer of the Psychology Club, and avid researcher.

Smith received BW's William Prokasy Award for her academic achievements and contributions to the field of psychology, and also was a White Rose Ceremony participant.

As she pursues her graduate degree, she is working on two separate grant funded projects. 

Healthcare MBA Graduate Leads Summa Cardiovascular Institute

Dr. Michael Hughes, MBA '12

Dr. Michael Hughes earned his health care MBA from BW in 2012. Earlier this year, he was named president of Summa Health System's Cardiovascular Institute.

Hughes, who specializes in international cardiology and cardiovascular disease, has held a number of leadership positions at Summa Health including medical director of the Cardiac Cath Lab and founding co-chairman of Northeast Ohio Cardiovascular Specialists. In addition, he also serves on the executive board of Summa's accountable care organization, New Health Collaborative and sits on the Summa Health Board of Directors.

Summa Health is one of the largest integrated healthcare delivery systems in Ohio and encompasses a network of hospitals, community health centers, a health plan, a physician-hospital organization, a multi-specialty physician organization, research and the Summa Foundation.

Hughes was honored with the American Heart Association’s Sauvageot Volunteer Service Award in 2012 and served on the AHA’s Board of Directors as its president. He also has been named a Cleveland Magazine Top Doctor in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

MBA Alumnus Named Hub Group's President and COO

Donald G. Maltby- Courtesy of Hub Group

After 25 years at Hub Group, one of the United States' largest transportation management corporations, Donald G. Maltby, a Baldwin Wallace MBA alumnus was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer this fall.

Maltby, who most recently served as a consultant to the Hub board, had worked his way up the ladder at the top 50 publicly traded company, holding numerous management positions, serving as Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Executive Vice President-Logistics Services, President of Hub Online and President of Hub Cleveland.

The Chicago area-based  Hub Group has more than 2,500 employees and $3.6 billion in annual revenue.

In a Hub Group press release, company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, David Yeager said, "I am very pleased that Don has chosen to take on the role of President and Chief Operating Officer. He is a hard worker and a strategic thinker with deep knowledge of the logistics industry as well as Hub's business and culture. I look forward to working with him to drive our company forward."

Prior to joining Hub, Maltby worked at Sherwin-Williams. He received his Masters in Business Administration from Baldwin Wallace in 1982.

Professor Infuses Music, NPR into Murder Mystery Novel

After nearly a decade of crafting a murder mystery novel, writing "on and off," BW adjunct history professor Robert Stinson is currently promoting the recently published book, Love and Death on Public Radio.

The book is "part murder mystery and part satire on Public Radio." In his description of the story, Stinson said, "My book takes classical music seriously as a theme for fiction without, however, requiring readers to bring a technical understanding to the story. In that sense it will appeal to anyone who listens to an NPR station, liked Amadeus, or reads novels like Ian McEwan’s Amsterdam (1999)."

Stinson's book is currently available as an ebook on Amazon. The story was inspired by and draws on his time as a classical broadcaster for an NPR station. Stinson began teaching part-time at BW following his retirement from Moravian College.

Stinson also has published three scholarly books; this is his first novel since 1987. 

BW Grad Featured on ABC-TV's "Scandal"

Seth Bellinger '10

Seth Bellinger '10, a Fairview, Ohio native who graduated from Baldwin Wallace with a Film/Broadcasting major and Psychology minor, was recently featured on ABC's season premiere of the hit drama series, Scandal.

Following graduation, Bellinger traveled to Los Angeles in pursuit of a career in film. After a few months in LA, he started getting offers for small parts in independent films, commercials and television shows.

Bellinger (left) on the Season 5 Premiere of Scandal on ABC-TV

He has acted in commercials for Spiklit and Golden Era Productions and also played the campus stalker on the television series, Dead of Night. Bellinger has also been featured in print advertising, including a appearance alongside CeeLo Green for a Fast Company Magazine ad.

A man of many talents, Bellinger, creates film, directs, acts and instructs tennis during his free time.

The Season 5 Premiere of Scandal aired on September 24 and is available on ABC.com.

Professor's Doo-Wop Duo Featured on Fox 8's Jukebox

Fox 8's Jukebox recently featured Babies in Black, a Cleveland local rockabilly duo comprised of Conservatory Professor Beth Hiser and Rachel Roberts.

Babies in Black performed five songs for Fox 8, which commended the duo on their "spot-on harmonies."

Hiser and Roberts have taken inspiration from early Beatles music, their namesake coming from the Beatles song Baby's in Black. Their Reverb Nation bio page says, "With Rachel on guitar and Beth on upright bass, they harmonize to every major pop hit between 1955-1965, from The Beatles to Lesley Gore to The Drifters. They play these songs to inspire original compositions, resembling the doo-wop and 60s pop era."

The duo is currently working on production of an album. They've played countless festivals across Ohio and opened for the premiere of the movie "Christine at the Crossroads."

Hiser also plays for Front Porch, a bluegrass band made up entirely of Baldwin Wallace professors who mostly teach subjects outside the Conservatory of Music.

Retired Faculty Member Publishes Inspiring Memoir

Touted by readers as "the story of a life well lived in the face of physical constraints, illness and adversity heaped atop challenges that were already present," From Where I Sit, a recently published memoir, tells the beautiful story of Victoria "Vickie" Covington, a retired BW faculty member.

Covington taught and played piano in BW's Conservatory of Music for 23 years where she also served as the chair of the piano department. She spent much of her life wheelchair-bound due to rheumatoid arthritis but that did not stop her from playing and teaching music to her students for years.

"This is a story of creativity, beginning with Vickie's early years, as she developed her own unique, highly unorthodox piano technique--even pedaling with her left foot!" according to a description on Amazon.

Covington was recently interviewed for a story, "Pianist tells her story with a tune of gratitude" on WYFF-TV in Greenville, S.C. where she now lives. She told the station that even though nature took away her ability to do what she loved, the music still lives within her.

Covington says proceeds from the sales of From Where I Sit will be donated to the three schools in Covington's life, including BW.

Sport Management Internship Leads to Cavs Job

Another Cavs season is upon us and the Cleveland community is buzzing with excitement! Alumna Emily Thomas '12 serves as the Community Relations Coordinator for the Cavs and is equally as excited for another fantastic season.

Thomas, a Wooster, Ohio native, double majored in sport management and public relations as an undergraduate student. With the help of her sport management classes and professors, she was able to network with professionals in the industry throughout her four years at BW. Thomas held internships with the Cleveland Gladiators, Cavs and Browns, as well as with the BW Events Management Department and ProCamps Worldwide.

"I would not be where I am today without the experiences I had at, because of, and through BW" she tells us, "I had great professors who cared about my career goals and were willing to do a lot to help me achieve those goals."

Good luck this season, Emily! Go Cavs!

White House Initiative Recognizes Work of Alumnus

The work of Cleveland's nonprofit Esperanza Inc. and executive director Victor Ruiz '99 continues to gain praise, most recently winning recognition from The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.  Ruiz says Esperanza, which is dedicated to the educational needs of the Hispanic community, is humbled by the White House recognition. "Esperanza is honored to be included in such a prestigious list of organizations that work tirelessly to improve the academic achievements of this country’s Hispanic communities."

Victor Ruiz passes out bookbags at Esperanza's Back to School Event. 

Photo courtesy: Esperanzainc.org

Esperanza was highlighted among the White House Initiative's "Bright Spots in Hispanic Education, one of 230 nationwide programs dedicated to Hispanic education listed.

According to a Crain's Cleveland Business article, Esperanza, under Ruiz's leadership, has helped to raise the Hispanic graduation rate in Cleveland from 30% to 64.3%, more than doubling it within three years by 2014.

A Freshwater Cleveland article added, "While the numbers are still below the national average, Esperanza and Ruiz continue forward, with a mission to only improve further."

Ruiz is also a 2014 Baldwin Wallace Alumni Merit Award winner.

McKelvey Park Rededicated in BW Alumna/HIstorian's Honor

Plaque commemorating the park's rededication to McKelvey
Photo courtesy cleveland.com

The City of Berea has renovated and officially rededicated a park honoring Dorothy Marks McKelvey, the longtime historian for the city and Baldwin Wallace University. The rededication of McKelvey Park, took place on the 30th anniversary of the original dedication ceremony of the park.

Not only was McKelvey a Baldwin Wallace alumna, but from 1950 to 1993, she served as BW's full-time historian and college archivist. She became the official Historian of Berea in 1980 and was the founder, president and trustee of the Berea Area Historical Society (BAHS).

According to The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, McKelvey "became the person newspapers called to verify facts about Berea's past."

The new lighted fountain at McKelvey Park
-Photo courtesy cleveland.com

In a Cleveland.com story on the recent park rededication, Berea Mayor Cyril Kleem commented that, "Her legacy lives on with this project."

According to the article, "McKelvey Park now sports a lighted fountain, which can double as a splash pad for children, a pergola, and more green space with seven imperial honey locust trees. A bell that originally hung in the former City Hall at the corner of East Bridge and Seminary has been reinstalled at the park."

Conservatory Student Fiddles Her Way to National Honor

While most musicians prefer peace and quiet when rehearsing show pieces, Meredith Hudock '16 asked her studio instructors to distract her as she practiced for this year's National Scottish Fiddling Competition.

Last year, Hudock remembers flash photography and theater light disruptions affecting her performance at the competition. This year, she prepared for any and all distractions that may had come her way.

"They [her instructors] would talk while I was playing, take pictures with flash, slam doors, switch on and off lights, and even come up on the stage I was playing on and dance around me," Hudock said. "I knew that if I could play through all that, I could play through anything!"

This unique preparation method paid off.

Hudock won second place at the 2015 National Scottish Fiddling Competition in the Edinboro Highland Games & Scottish Festival in Edinboro, Pa. A senior Violin Performance major in the Conservatory of Music, Hudock points back to the support she has received at BW to her success.

"While I was touring other colleges in high school, professors would give me the weirdest looks whenever I said the words 'Scottish fiddler,'" Hudock said. "When I visited BW and said I was a Scottish fiddler, they welcomed me with open arms." 

With this impressive achievement to add to her resume, Hudock hopes to earn a master's degree in Scottish fiddling from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow after BW graduation.

"Even though I do a variety of alternative styles, I always come back to Scottish music," Hudock said. "I hope to continue to teach and perform Scottish fiddle so the music tradition stays alive for many years to come."

First BW Student Accepted to OU Medical School Under Primary Care Early Assurance Program

BW's Primary Healthcare Advancement Program has produced the first future doctor to win early acceptance to medical school at Ohio University-Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-HCOM). Nathan Katz '17 was honored at a celebratory dinner on the new Cleveland campus of OU-HCOM.

Katz, a biology (pre-med) major, has always wanted to be a primary care doctor. Being granted early acceptance to medical school as a junior is a dream come true for the Columbus native. "I've wanted to be a doctor since my senior year of high school after I started caring for my grandfather while he struggled with dementia in his old age."

The partnership with OU-HCOM is one of two early assurance medical school partnerships that BW has to offer.  The other links aspiring physicians at BW to Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. The Primary Healthcare Advancement Program blends coursework of BW's public health major and a medically oriented science curriculum, giving undergraduate students a foundation needed to successfully pursue primary care medical training.

Katz's advice to anyone looking for early acceptance to medical school? "Take things day by day and don't get overwhelmed by the requirements of the program or the course load!"

BW to be Honored as Minds Matter "Partner of the Year"

On November 7, BW is being recognized as the Minds Matter "Partner of the Year" for the continuous support the university has provided to the program. The Minds Matter organization assists promising high school students from low-income backgrounds with things like ACT preparation and college admission counseling in order to put them on the path to a successful college career. Minds Matter says 100% of the program's students have been accepted by four-year colleges.

The national organization's Cleveland chapter was launched in 2008, with the help of several BW alumni. Michael Lagoni ‘06, along with Kristen San Marco ’06 and Meghan Pethtel ’07 all worked to bring the chapter together in it's beginning stages.

BW maintains a strong link with the chapter today through it's alumni founders, faculty board members and volunteers. The organization is also proud to partner with BW on a two-week summer enrichment program starting with the 2015-2016 year.

BW will be recognized at the Third Annual Minds Matter Gala on November 7, with tickets available online. There will also be a silent auction benefiting the non-profit organization's Cleveland chapter.

Sustainability Alumna Echoes own "Zero Waste" Life with Career

Displaying one of her few articles of clothing

(Photo Courtesy: Paris-To-Go)

After a couple of trips to Paris, France, 26-year-old Baldwin Wallace sustainability graduate Ariana Schwarz fell in love-- not only with her husband, but also with Paris. After tying the knot, she made a permanent move to the City of Light and began applying her BW major, her passions and hobbies into a self-made career as a sustainability consultant and lifestyle blogger.

Schwarz began blogging, just as a way "to show [her] friends and family what Paris is like," according to a recent feature article in The Plain Dealer, but her blog, Paris-To-Go has evolved into a lifestyle blog with enough traffic to generate a profit. Schwarz said, "I never expected blogging to go anywhere, though, so I was really surprised at how people could relate to it and support it--I'm really grateful."

Schwarz's zero-waste lifestyle extends to every aspect including the bathroom.
(Photo Courtesy: Paris-To-Go)

On her blog, Schwarz explains how to live sustainably in every aspect of life, including her own examples of ways she produces zero-waste. She touches on subjects such as: A Paris Survival Guide, Zero Waste Guide, Simplifying one's Beauty Routine, and Living Gluten-Free in Paris. Schwarz also incorporated her love for fashion into her blog, where she displays her simple, 10-item wardrobe.

Schwarz also works for companies and individuals as a sustainability consultant. In The Plain Dealer article, she said, "I do audits and go through a house and figure out how they can eliminate plastic from their life and how they can use less water and electricity. I help them be more environmentally friendly."

(Photo Courtesy of: Paris To Go Instagram)

Everything Schwarz does aligns with sustainability. "My BW education helped me apply sustainability to my life in a practical way.... Now I have a job I love in Paris, working with clients like Airbnb, Le Parisien, Hilton Paris Opera, and World Wildlife Fund Europe on sustainability-related initiatives."

Schwarz encourages other sustainability majors to travel and see how other countries approach sustainability. She said, "I feel like my professors at BW encouraged me to get out and see the world and I learned so much that way."

She added, "This is my dream job! Having the freedom to choose clients who truly align with my values, to travel, and make my own schedule was really important to me."

Nursing Alumnus Fulfills Dream of Becoming VA Nurse

Mike Twigg while deployed overseas.

Mike Twigg '14 joined the army at age 38, then used his GI benefits to fulfill his dream of becoming a VA nurse.

Twigg was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and later to Kuwait/Qatar in 2012, acting as an army medic, according to a cleveland.com feature story on his mid-life career journey. After his service, Twigg came home and earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) through BW's one-year, accelerated BSN program.

Twigg now works with 35 veterans as a medical and surgical nurse at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center and told cleveland.com he has forged a special connection with his patients. "I understand where they're coming from, these men and women, because I've been there with them."

Twigg also volunteers to be a mentor for the Veterans Treatment Court, a program designed to divert veterans from typical punishment for felonies by placing them in a special mentor/mentee program.