Alumni Association activities
“An Acoustic Evening with Alumni and Art” and scholarship recipients
Gadsden State Alumni Association, Walnut Gallery team up for free event
The Gadsden State Community College Alumni Association and the Walnut Gallery hosted “An Acoustic Evening with Alumni and Art” March 13. All alumni and Gadsden State supporters were invited to attend the free event.
“This is a great way for the alumni association to recruit new members as well as network with others who are supportive of Gadsden State and its mission,” said Justin Hayes, president of the alumni association.
“An Acoustic Evening with Alumni and Art” featured music from local bluegrass great Glen Williams and local landscape artist Bryce Lafferty.
“This event will combine two popular forms of the fine arts – music and art,” said Mario Gallardo, owner of the Walnut Gallery and division chair of Gadsden State’s fine arts department. “People will be entertained at the Walnut Gallery, a venue they may have never visited before, while learning more about how they can get involved with the Gadsden State Alumni Association.”
Williams has been a part of northeast Alabama’s musical landscape since his days in the school band in Hokes Bluff. He is known for his bluegrass style and is a co-founder with his wife Felicia of the Foggy Hollow Bluegrass Gatherin’. He has performed with several well-known bluegrass acts, including Doyle Lawson and IIIrd Tyme Out. For over two decades, Williams has been playing the guitar and mandolin as the leader of the Foggy Hollow Band. He is also a member of the worship band at North Glencoe Church.
Lafferty had several watercolors of landscapes on exhibit. He is an associate professor at Jacksonville State University, where he teaches painting, watercolor, illustration, digital drawing and foundations drawing. His works have been accepted into many juried exhibitions in Alabama, North Carolina, Ohio, Connecticut, Tennessee and Georgia. Lafferty has been featured in solo exhibitions at such venues as the Birmingham Botanic Gardens, Heritage Hall Museum in Talladega, Horizon Gallery in Carrolton, Texas and the Hammond Gallery at JSU.
Gadsden State Alumni Association awards scholarships
The Gadsden State Alumni Association awarded two scholarships utilizing funds from the membership fees. The recipients selected by the Alumni Association Scholarship Committee and were recognized during the virtual Honors Day program. Recipients are awarded a scholarship based on the following criteria: a current student at Gadsden State with the completion of 24 credit hours prior to the scholarship term and an overall GPA of 2.5. The student must submit a resume, be a Gadsden State Alumni Association member and answer a questionnaire that describes their career goals and explains how the alumni association scholarship will aid them in achieving their goals. They also had to submit a letter of recommendation from a current faculty or staff member.
The first recipient is Caler Staub, who earned her associate degree in general studies following the summer semester. While at Gadsden State, she served as a tutor in the Cardinal Tutoring Center, worked in Student Support Services and was on the Dean’s List. Now a student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, she is majoring in Industrial and Systems Engineering and minoring in Psychology.
Maria Petersen is the second recipient of the alumni association scholarship. She has a 3.6 GPA and is a member of the PTK, SGA and vice president of TRiO for Success Club at Gadsden State. She was elected SGA president for the 2020 - 21 academic year. She volunteers her time at Church on the Rock and Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Petersen earned an associate degree in general studies following the summer semester but continues to attend Gadsden State in pursuit of a certification in Surgical Operating Room Technology.
