Washington Center program offers students chance to work and learn in Washington, D.C.

Lyon College students interested in politics and business have an opportunity to spend a summer working in Washington, D.C., gaining valuable insight and experience while earning college credit.

Dr. Bradley Gitz, Lyon’s William Jefferson Clinton Professor of International Politics, said the college has recently teamed with the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, an educational nonprofit organization serving hundreds of colleges and universities in the U.S. and other countries by providing selected students with opportunities to work and learn in Washington, D.C. for academic credit.

The largest such program, the Washington Center, has over 35,000 alumni, many of whom are leaders in numerous professions and nations around the world.

"Since this is a relatively new program/relationship for us, we haven't had many students take part yet, but we’re hoping for more," Gitz said. "We had one who applied and was accepted last year."

Sarah Sweatt, a student still here at Lyon, ultimately chose not to accept the position because she got married.

According to the Washington Center’s Web site, the organization’s goal is to provide diverse, highly motivated interns to thousands of organizations in government, business and the non-profit sector. They contribute significantly to their placements and often prove to be of longer-term interest as prospective employees.

More broadly, the Washington Center maintains a vital role in service to society as a whole, developing the workforce of the future and encouraging all of its participants to be informed, public-spirited and civically engaged. For this reason, the Washington Center has support from an array of state and federal agencies, corporations, foundations and private donors.

Gitz said students are chosen as the result of a competitive selection process – the more impressive the record, the more likely the student will be accepted.

In some instances, because of the college’s official relationship with the program, students here would be allowed to transfer their Lyon tuition/fees to the Center for the semester they were there, covering most, if not all, of the expense, he added.

"They would remain ‘enrolled’ at Lyon during that semester," Gitz said. "But the financial aid office would have more information on precisely how much that would be in terms of costs and how exactly Lyon goes about crediting the money."

Students in the program perform the usual intern tasks, depending upon which type of agency or media outlet or non-profit they are signed up with. Some of those jobs could include covering news stories, copy editing, fact checking, writing out press releases and attending speeches and events.

Lyon students should contact Gitz if they are interested in applying to the program.

"I have plenty of literature on the program and my letter of support as liaison is required as part of the application process," he said.

Lyon professor details thread connecting Faulkner’s influence on modern masters

William Faulkner’s genius continues to influence the writers who follow in his literary footsteps, and a Lyon College professor has just published four articles that detail the threads connecting them.

Dr. Terrell Tebbetts, Lyon’s Martha Heasley Cox Chair of American Literature, has long been regarded as an authority on the works of Faulkner. He leads "Teaching Faulkner" sessions as the annual Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha Conference at the University of Mississippi, and he has published over a dozen earlier articles on Faulkner’s novels.

"The four new articles come out of my twin passions for teaching the modern writers, especially Faulkner but others as well, and also keeping up with the new writers of our own time," Dr. Tebbetts said.

Following his first passion, he said the essay on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s "Babylon Revisited" just published in The F. Scott Fitzgerald Review grew from an idea he got while teaching the story in his course in modern American literature. The idea led him to other stories by Fitzgerald and to a number of commentaries on his fiction.

"A month before that came out I had published a review of the new book on Faulkner and the Great Depression on invitation from the journal that published it," Dr. Tebbetts said. "The editor Arkansas Review: A Journal of Delta Studies knew I’d published a lot of essays on Faulkner’s fiction and thought I might like to read the book and write a review for his journal. He was right."

Following his second passion, when he reads contemporary fiction he’s always on the "lookout for how writers use and respond to Faulkner’s fiction." Faulkner’s a "writer’s writer," whom countless later writers acknowledge as one of the masters of fiction, Dr. Tebbetts added.

"Since I’ve read almost everything both Lee Smith and Cormac McCarthy have written, I couldn’t help but spot the connections between Smith’s ‘Family Linen’ and Faulkner’s ‘As I Lay Dying’ and between McCarthy’s ‘No Country for Old Men’ and Faulkner’s ‘Sanctuary’," he said.

Smith picked up Faulkner’s use of multiple storytellers and his interest in how the sins of the parents might be visited on the children. Tebbetts’ essay "Disinterring Daddy: Family Linen’s Response to As I Lay Dying" appeared in this spring’s Southern Literary Journal.

McCarthy picked up Faulkner’s sense that the trade in illicit substances corrupts all of society. "Alcohol in Faulkner’s Depression days," Tebbetts noted, "and heroin in McCarthy’s modern scene." His article "Sanctuary Redux: Faulkner’s ‘Logical Pattern of Evil’ in McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men" appeared in the spring issue of Philological Review.

When faculty members publish in their fields, it means their peers — other scholars from across the nation — have read their essays and books and have recommended that they be published. That means they’ve judged the work to be "top notch," Dr. Tebbetts said.

"That, in its turn, means that we are staying on top of all the changes in our fields and are able to give our students the skills necessary to do top notch work themselves," he said.

Future writing plans for Dr. Tebbetts include an essay he’s just submitted on the famous American poem "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson.

"Like the Fitzgerald essay, it grew from an idea I got while teaching my American literature course," he said.

Dr. Tebbetts is also working on an article on a contemporary novel entitled "Last Orders," by the British writer Graham Swift, another novelist who has acknowledged his debt to Faulkner.

Noted caver and geologist ‘rocks’ Lyon College at convocation

By Eric Stewart Lyon College News Bureau An open mind and an eagerness to see, do and learn new things is key to living a life of adventure and fulfillment, renowned geologist and cave explorer Dr. Louise Hose told an enthusiastic audience at Lyon College on Monday. While on campus, she joined members of Lyon’s X-Treme Adventure Squad (X.A.S.) and the Student Activities Council (SAC) on a wild caving tour at the Blanchard Springs Caverns, just north of Mountain View. Hose has more than 30 years experience in geological research, education and exploration and related some of her life experiences to her audience. "I’ve found that perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned in my life is to have an open mind toward new experiences and to be prepared to seize opportunity," Hose said during her speech in Nucor Auditorium. And indeed, the main focus of her presentation was how she, the third daughter of an underprivileged family living in Los Angeles, learned to recognize and seize opportunities in her life after she had been raised with lowered expectations of life because of her gender and social status.

Dr. Louise Hose, geologist and cave explorer, with Dr. Tom Carpenter, chair of the Convocations Committee.                                                                                                        Photo by Eric Stewart

When she was 15, speaker John Goddard spoke to Hose’s school about how he had attained many of 127 goals he had written out at a young age, goals that ranged from learning to play musical instruments to exploring the Amazon River. "I remember leaving that assembly thinking ‘Wow, what great opportunities are afforded to men,’ but it never occurred to me that I could ever do anything like that," Hose said. Although her family didn’t have much money, Hose was afforded an opportunity to go to college because a university had opened near her house and she wouldn’t have to pay room and board to attend. Once she became a student, she joined the Hiking Club. Though she’d spent family vacations camping and hiking, many of the club’s activities such as rock climbing, rappelling and cave exploring seemed very scary to her at first. "But I really wanted to get to know this group of people that were doing these fun things so I hung around and tried these new experiences," Hose said. To her surprise, she learned immediately that she loved to go on the Hiking Club’s excursions, especially into caves, and she began exploring caves in the California area extensively. She and her friends began to find important paleontological sites in many of the caves they explored and Hose became a member of many groups that excavated the sites. After a series of big finds and an ever-increasing love for geology, Hose changed her major to geology and began taking every opportunity she could to explore and, eventually map, caves. Her life since has consisted of hard work and a series of interesting opportunities and odd occurrences. In her professional life, Hose has explored and researched cave finds in New Guinea, England, Greece, South Africa, Oman, Yugoslavia and the United States. Some of her most noted work has been featured twice in National Geographic magazine. She spent 13 years in higher education and academic research and worked under Lyon’s very own President Dr. Walter Roettger at Westminster College in Missouri. Academic institutes and organizations including the National Science Foundation, U.S. Forest Service, National Geographic Society, National Speleological Society, and two foreign resource management agencies, have sponsored her work.

Religion in the South is convocation topic Dr Wayne Flynt (second from right), professor emeritus of history at Auburn University, spoke at a convocation Thursday at Lyon College. His topic was "The South's Battle Over God." With him are (from left) Dr. Tim Lindblom; Dr. Brooks Blevins, who was a doctoral student of Dr. Flynt's at Auburn; and Susan Lindblom.                                                                                                                             Photo by Eric Stewart

Soccer

GEORGETOWN, Ky. -- The landmark season for the Lyon College Pipers finally came to an end Saturday in the first round of the Region XI Tournament

The Georgetown Lady Tigers, ranked fourth in Region XI, earned a 4-2 victory over the Pipers in the first round action at the regional tournament.

Lyon finishes its greatest women's soccer season in school history at 13-6. The year included a third-place regular-season finish in the TranSouth Standings, the team's first TranSouth Conference appearance and tourney victory, a spot in the TranSouth Tournament Semifinals, five All-Conference selections and the team's first-ever Region XI appearance.

Georgetown moves on to Monday's regional semifinals against Region XI's No. 1 team, Lindsey Wilson College.

Junior All-TranSouth Conference forward Angelique Armenta and sophomore Sarah Ruegger each scored goals for Lyon in the contest. Katy Smith and Pipers' leading scorer Sarah Poncher each assisted on the respective scores.

All-TranSouth first-team goal keeper Stephanie Henderson also stopped 15 shots for saves in the the loss.

The game was the last in a Piper uniform for senior second-team All-Conference defender Allison Morrison and seniors Erica Alves, Martha Seilenga and goal keeper/student assistant Amanda Fore.

The Lyon College Scots received three All-TranSouth Conference nods for their play on the field in 2006, all with a Texas flavor.

Senior Steve Banks was the team's only first-team selection while freshman phenom Greg Buford and freshman defender Tobi Osinowo were named to the second team. All three players are from cities in Texas.

Banks, a midfielder from Frisco, Tex., had five goals and four assists for a total of 14 points in 2006. The three-time, first-team All-Conference selection (2004, 2005, 2006) is Lyon College's all-time leader in points and assists.

Buford, a forward from Mesquite, Tex., was the Scots' freshman scoring sensation this season, setting single-season school records for points (22) while tying a single-season record for goals (8).

Osinowo, a defender from Irving, Tex., was a key defender in the Scots backfield, who also punched in a goal and had an assist in 2006.

The trio helped lead Lyon to an 8-8-1 record this season, including the program's first wins over Lambuth and Union.

Volleyball

The Lyon College Pipers had little trouble dispatching the Mid-Continent Lady Cougars Saturday on Senior Day. The Pipers topped Mid-Continent 3-0 for the second time this season and ran away with a TranSouth Conference victory at Becknell Gym.

It was appropriate that the seniors led the Pipers to victory on Senior Day:

* Senior outside hitter Alison Sablick picked up her 1000th career dig with a 12 dig, 13 kill performance (both game-highs). Sablick currently sits in third place on the all-time Lyon College dig list with 1003.

* Senior Alyson Boone of Cabot picked up nine kills and four blocks.

* Senior middle Madeline Homer added 10 kills and four blocks.

Junior libero Ann Sullivan added a stat line of 12 assists, nine digs and three aces. Leah Eifling pitched in 18 assists and Jessica Sylvester had 11 assists.

Head coach Justin Dee’s Pipers won the first game 30-14, took the second game 30-24 and finished off the Lady Cougars 30-20 in the final set.

Lyon halted a two-game slide and ran its record to 17-11 and finished 9-7 in the TranSouth. Mid-Continent sinks to 2-19 overall and is still searching for its first victory in league play with an 0-15 record.

The Pipers currently sit fifth in the league and await a Nov. 6 matchup between Mid-Continent and Union to see if they can move up to a fourth-place finish. Lyon holds the tie-breaker, with a sweep in the season series with Union, but Union has the advantage of playing league doormat MCU and also has a slight lead in the standings with a 9-6 record.

Basketball

BETHANY, Okla. -- The Lyon College Scots fell to 1-1 on the year, thanks to a nationally-ranked Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm team, in a 96-53 runaway Saturday evening in the Southern Nazarene Classic.

Southern Nazarene (2-0), ranked No. 10 in the Preseason Division I NAIA poll, rocketed to a 46-18 lead at intermission and held the Scots (1-1) at arm's length in the second half.

Poor shooting plauged the Scots in the first half as the team hit only 29 percent (7-of-21) from the field. Things improved from a shooting standpoint in the second half -- the Scots hit 15-of-30 -- but the damage had been done.

The Crimson Storm hit 41-of-74 shots (55 percent) and out-rebounded the Scots 53-20, but the biggest stat line of the night might have been in the turnover column where the host team held a decided advantage -- Lyon had 27 turnovers compared to SNU's five.

Southern Nazarene's duo of Brent Kimmel and Leroy Dawson were the game's high-scorers, earning 14 points apiece.

Forward Charles Black led the Scots in scoring for the second night in a row, notching 11 points. Alex Kelly was the only other Lyon player in double digits, sporting 10 points.

Lyon is idle until its 8 p.m. home opener on Tuesday against Central Baptist College.

Scots win season opener

BETHANY, Okla. -- Four Lyon College players scored in double figures to pace the team to an 88-82 victory over Southwestern Christian Friday in the Scots' season-opener at the Southern Nazarene Classic.

Forward Charles Black led the Scots with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds.

Guard Jonathan Donaldson and forward Levi Taylor chipped in 14 points apiece. Taylor also had a game-high nine rebounds and point guard Trey Salley rounded out the Lyon quartet in double digits with 11.

Lyon shot 21-of-35 (60 percent) from the floor in the second half and hit for 36-of-66 buckets (54.5 percent) over the course of the game.

"We had some struggles defensively and with fouls," said Scots' head coach Kevin Jenkins of his teams 27 personal fouls, "but we shot the ball well. You really can't ask for more than that in an opening-game win on the road."

Jenkins' Scots were up 38-34 at the half, and led by as many as 16 with about three minutes to go.

Southwestern Christian's Roman Owen led all scorers with 23 points while teammates Jarail Smith and Nolan Johnson added 17 and 16, respectively.

BETHANY, Okla. -- The Lyon College Pipers didn't run into a buzzsaw Saturday at the Southen Nazarene Classic, in fact, they were the buzzsaw in a 92-57 blow out of Southwestern Christian.

Lyon was near flawless from the 3-point arc, hitting 13-of-17 triples for an amazing 76.5 percent, and outrebounded SWCU, 33-26.

Piper guard April Carter was a huge part of the success, pouring in a game-high 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field, including 5-of-7 shooting from 3-point land.

Lyon forward Maribeth Waters chipped in a 16-point, nine-rebound outing and teammate Nikki Baker of Batesville added 16 points and shot a perfect 4-for-4 from the arc. Guard Alison Wilkins rounded out the Lyon players in double figures with 12 points.

"It was a great effort for us," said Piper head coach Tracy Stewart-Lange. "I was proud of our intensity and I was proud of how we bounced back in rebounding and in shooting."

The Pipers (1-1 overall) jumped to a 37-23 lead at the break behind a 12-of-26 shooting performance in the first half. Lyon then closed the door in the second half, outscoring SWCU 55-34 with 57.6 percent (19-of-23) shooting clip in the second half. Overall, the Pipers were 31-of-59 from the field for 52.5 percent.

Stewart-Lange's ballclub is idle until Tuesday's home opener against Central Baptist College. Tip off is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Southern Nazarene stops Pipers in opener

BETHANY, Okla. -- Southern Nazarene jumped out to a 46-16 first-half lead on the Lyon College Pipers and never looked back en route to a 75-55 decision Friday night in the Pipers' season opener at the Southern Nazarene Classic.

"(Southern Nazarene) is ranked 26th in the country," said Pipers head coach Tracy Stewart-Lange, "and they'll probably move up quickly. They're just a really strong team and a tough defensive team."

Lyon sophomore Maribeth Waters of Greers Ferry, Ark., scored a team-high 13 points and led the Pipers with eight rebounds. Guard April Carter shared team-high scoring honors with 13 points and senior Nikki Baker added 10.

Cross Country

Palmer ninth, Scots place fifth at Region XI meet

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Scots' cross-country runner Beau Palmer paced his team to a fifth place finish at the Region XI meet with a ninth-place time of 26:51.80 Saturday at E.P. Tom Sawyer Park.

Lyon's Daniel Haney ran 26th with a time of 29:08.87 and teammate Glenn Ritter came in 29th with a time of 29:30.81.

The Scots notched 143 points as a team, running behind Lindsey Wilson in fourth (103), Campbellsville in third (89), Union (38) in second and meet winner Cumberlands (29).

Other Scots finishers of note were: Gabe LeBlanc in 44th place, Steven Wright in 55th place, Andrew Nadzam in 59th place, Josh Looney in 65th place and John Hubbard in 66th place.