Members of the Catawba College community gathered in Omwake-Dearborn Chapel on April 23 to celebrate achievement. The occasion was the annual Awards Convocation.Scheduled the day after Earth Day, the awards distributed were eco-friendly, made of Catawba blue, 100% recycled glass. They symbolized the college's commitment to environmental responsibility and are a reminder to the recipients to promote a greener, more sustainable lifestyle.

As the 2012-2013 academic year comes to a close, Catawba College students are thinking about their futures. For some graduating in May, a next step — graduate school — is on their minds. For those with a year or so to go before they earn their undergraduate degree, thoughts are on how to enhance their future opportunities and make themselves ready for the next steps after Catawba.

Students from Catawba College's Sociology Capstone Seminar class recently participated in the annual "Point in Time" homeless person count in Rowan County organized by Rowan Helping Ministries.

Dr. Buster Smith, an assistant professor of sociology at Catawba College, recently served as a moderator for a panel discussion on Arts of Faith held at Waterworks Visual Arts Center in Salisbury. The discussion was held Jan. 17. Smith, who joined the Catawba faculty at the start of the 2011-2012 academic year, is interested in the study of the sociology of religion.

Fourteen Catawba College students employed their unique gifts and talents in service to others as interns with tax-exempt nonprofit organizations during the summer of 2012. Funding and coordination for the program were provided through the college's Lilly Center for Vocation and Values. While these students clearly benefitted from the experiential learning opportunities offered through such internships, they also filled vital roles within the programs they served.

Beginning with this fall's incoming first-year class, Catawba College students will need to complete community service hours to officially graduate with honors. That proposal was approved unanimously last year by both the Student Council and the Honors Faculty Board at Catawba.

Catawba College's new president, a Catawba alumnus who has served as a six-time U.S. Ambassador, and a Fox Network television show star will figure in the college's commencement exercises slated for Saturday, May 12 in Keppel Auditorium of the Robertson College-Community Center.

by John H. Rapp '76 (Sociology and Psychology Alumnus) - An alumnus remembers two former first ladies (Omwake and Dearborn) and their impact on his time at Catawba and beyond.

One is a Toastmaster and has authored four books, including one entitled, "Cows Are People Too: Lessons from Someone Out Standing in the Field." One signed his employment contract in Borneo and left his job at the Smithsonian Institution to come to Catawba College. Another is a nationally certified athletic trainer with a keen personal interest in motorsports. Then, there is one who can solve a Rubik's Cube in just two minutes and is interested in studying the sociology of religion.

Six Catawba College students, all majoring in sociology, are attending the Southern Sociological Society conference in Jacksonville, Fla., April 6-9. Those attending include Bianca Boone of Charlotte; Terri Christy of Salisbury; Susan Fisher of Lititz, Pa.; Megan Kittel of Mooresville; Mimi Medrano of Spencer; and Roslind Wiseman of Salisbury.