Recently, I attended the memorial service for Martha LeStourgeon ’46, someone whose tenure at Longwood predated my own, but who was among the many great faculty and staff who made long careers here, impacting generations of students. Martha provided an extraordinary link spanning Longwood history, graduating in the last year of the presidency of Joseph Jarman, who had taken office in 1902. She worked in the library from 1948 until her retirement in 1991, serving 19 years as director. Martha was committed to the importance of access to library resources, and to her colleagues and Longwood students.
One of the most important things that happens at a place like Longwood is a mixing of the generations. The combination of acquired wisdom from faculty and staff who build careers here, and the youthful energy of those who follow, is powerful, with benefits flowing to all involved. For many of you, as for me, great mentoring has been hugely consequential in life and work. It happens every day in every corner of Longwood’s campus. In a way, mentoring is a microcosm of the full Longwood experience, which is why we’ve devoted this issue of the magazine to the subject, and to sharing some stories that illustrate mentoring’s life-changing power.
In this age of fracturing institutions, there are fewer such opportunities for this generational mixing—and for genuine, in-person mentoring relationships. Residential campuses like Longwood matter more and more in this regard. Our role is to assemble the ingredients for mentoring relationships and encourage their formation. The tools we use include small classes, support for research experiences, and making sure we hire faculty and staff who are eager to teach and mentor. The result is lives transformed down through the generations, as Longwood mentees grow into mentors someday themselves.
By far the most important ingredient is people. About 85 percent of what Longwood spends money on is people—faculty, staff and coaches, for whom mentoring is at the heart of the job. And, of course, we have to invest in students, too, to make sure they are able to come here and reap the benefits of mentoring. That is why fundraising for scholarships is our top philanthropic priority.
All of which is to say, when you support Longwood, you are supporting people. You are making possible the relationships like those described in this magazine. You are transforming lives, now and into the far future.
My best wishes,
W. Taylor Reveley IV
President
Dr. Emily Heady has an economy-size carton of individually wrapped cheese crackers on the bottom shelf of the bookcase in her office.
SOME OF THE BEST mentors at Longwood are just a year or two older than the new students they’re helping adjust to college life.
Dr. Humerick and Dr. Alvarez Humerick remembers well that soccer game freshman year, when she first started to see there was something different about Dr. Alvarez.
I see mentoring as an effective way to transfer my knowledge and experience, not only on scientific research but also on academic and everyday life, helping my mentees to discover their passion.
Funding a scholarship for a deserving Longwood student is now easier than ever before, thanks to an innovative initiative by the Office of Institutional Advancement
A history-making Longwood graduate has returned to campus as a member of her alma mater’s governing board.
Rabih Alameddine, a Lebanese-American fiction and essay writer known for his diverse and multifaceted storytelling, is the 2019 winner of the John Dos Passos Prize for Literature.
There is plenty to make the Longwood community feel proud in the latest college rankings.
The lure of the research lab was what one group of Longwood student scientists found irresistible this past summer—not the beach.
Longwood faculty members were recently awarded two grants from the National Science Foundation—totaling more than $1.2 million.
A TWO-YEAR GRANT of $50,000 will help Longwood Recovers, the university’s collegiate recovery program.
If you visited the typical elementary or middle school in Virginia, you might notice that the teachers are mostly women—and that male minority teachers are virtually absent from those classrooms.
When James Bennett ’21 was growing up, he thought he didn’t want to follow in the professional footsteps of his parents—both of whom are teachers.
FOUR CYBER SECURITY experts convened on campus in October to discuss the biggest challenges facing the global IT community and what citizens can do to protect their private data from cybercriminals.
Turk, historian of the U.S. Marshals Service, described this as “a completely new take on Billy the Kid.
One hundred years ago, the Longwood women’s basketball team began a new chapter in the story of the institution.
AS PART OF this year’s 100th Season Anniversary of Longwood Athletics, Longwood will host a pair of on-campus celebrations recognizing the historical achievements of Lancers past.
Women’s soccer forward Emilie Kupsov ’20, an exercise science major, has lit up the scoreboard since her freshman year, and the senior recently joined elite company by reaching the 20-goal plateau.
Longwood fans got their first look at the 2019-20 Lancer men’s and women’s basketball teams during the annual Lancer Madness season tipoff event Oct. 22.
It would be an understatement to say Amadeo Blasco ’20 didn’t make a good first impression on his new head tennis coach, Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez.
In her 22 years as head coach of Longwood’s softball program, Kathy Riley has inspired hundreds of student-athletes.
Alumni Weekend, scheduled for May 29-31, 2020, will feature the best of past events while adding flexible pricing options for alumni to participate in all activities or just a few.
ALUMNI FAMILY GAME DAY promises to offer an afternoon of fun and excitement for all ages.
Alumni and Career Services continues to ramp up its efforts to help Longwood students and alums find rewarding careers, holding Longwood’s first Career Prep Week in October.
ALUMNI WHO ARE SEEKING jobs or recruiting employees are invited to attend three upcoming career fairs.
One group of parents moving their freshmen into the newly renovated Frazer Hall this fall must have felt at least a smidgeon of déjà vu.
Julie Mock Blake ’99 doesn’t think she’ll ever get too old for summer camp—at least not the camp where she’s been volunteering since she was 12.
Joan Perry Brock ’64 was appointed by Gov. Ralph Northam to a five-year term on the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Board of Trustees in February.
Kathleen McCann Hanawalt ’38 July 6, 2019, Elizabeth Carrington Pendergrass ’42 June 20, 2019
It’s a Saturday in downtown Farmville. You can see the historic architecture and savor the views of campus.
“I believe you can make a difference in his life. I need you to make sure he graduates.”
Bigger than The Hungry Caterpillar’s appetite. More beguiling than The Cat in the Hat. More fun than a day with Pinkalicious.