Those all require residents to come to Furman, however, so what if Furman came to them? And with that, \u201cFurman Crossing\u201d was born.<\/p>\n
The idea was to recruit Furman faculty to present free, 30-minute lectures to Woodlands residents. The result was a four-part series that included English professor Joni Tevis, Ph.D.<\/a>, political science professor Michael Bressler, Ph.D.<\/a>, former music professor Bing Vick, Ph.D<\/a> and history professor Courtney Tollison, Ph.D<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI contacted professors . . . just to kind of get an idea of who would be interested to come and speak at the Woodlands,\u201d Baddley said. \u201cMost of them were professors we had had in the past and really liked.\u201d<\/p>\n Tevis, who recently won a prestigious Pushcart Prize<\/a> and published her second book, The World Is on Fire, <\/em>shared her expertise on essay writing with a lecture called \u201cThe Atomic Boom: A Writer\u2019s Adventures.\u201d Tollison presented \u201cFurman University: A Brief History.\u201d<\/p>\n Professor Tevis talks with Woodlands residents<\/p><\/div>\n Bressler switched gears to discuss \u201cThe History Behind Conflict in the Middle East,\u201d while Vick educated people on the Greenville Chorale, which he has conducted since 1981<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHarry Shucker is a personal friend of long standing.\u00a0I wished to affirm my friendship with Harry and to support the SLI,\u201d Vick said. \u201cMy presentation was well-received, and, I think, appreciated and enjoyed by the residents. I know several former Furman faculty colleagues who reside there.\u201d<\/p>\n SLI is named in honor of Dr. Harry Shucker<\/a>, who retired in 2007 from his position as vice president for student services after 40 years at Furman. Students who are chosen to participate become Shucker Fellows and are\u00a0required to complete a Leadership Challenge Project. Formerly called Passion Projects, these student-led\u00a0initiatives have long been part of the program, but they did not become a requirement of until the 2014\u201315 academic year.<\/p>\n The goal of the Shucker Fellows program is that as\u00a0freshmen, students\u00a0gain a\u00a0culmination of insights about their interests and leadership strengths and weaknesses through a series of educational sessions. Once together, Baddley, Mellor, and Nazareth quickly realized they shared an affection for older members of the population and an idea was born.<\/p>\n Mellor, a communications and English major who came to Furman from Irvine, Calif., estimates about 40 people attended the talks.<\/p>\n \u201cBing Vick’s lecture really resonated with the gathered residents as many knew him personally,\u201d she said. \u201cThe feedback from the Woodlands residents was really positive.\u201d<\/p>\n Baddley\u2019s aunt and uncle, Cathi and Kerry Cough, lived in the Woodlands at the time and agree with Mellor\u2019s assessment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all enjoyed it. We had some excellent choices for people that presented, and we had varying sizes crowds but it was always a very decent crowd, and several times it was a room full,\u201d Cathi said. Bianca Forte \u201916 who was student director at the time, didn\u2019t have the opportunity to participate in a challenge, but her enthusiasm for implementing the program nearly filled the void.\u00a0“It was my\u00a0passion to not only\u00a0re-introduce\u00a0the Passion Projects (now LCP’s)\u00a0but to also\u00a0strengthen the curriculum,\u00a0so that students, faculty and staff, and the Greenville community are\u00a0included,” said Forte, who is now\u00a0the student intern for the Shucker Center for Leadership Development.<\/p>\n \u201cMy year we didn\u2019t have these projects, and it was my passion to make these projects come to life.\u201d Forte said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe give students tools and strategies their freshman year, and then in their sophomore year, we have monthly meetings to evaluate whether they are meeting requirements and also to teach them how to implement strategies by collaborating with the community and with their peers.\u201d<\/p>\n Baddley, a business major from Simpsonville, S.C., accomplished her objective of becoming a Shucker graduate with the project. That wasn\u2019t all she gained, however.<\/p>\n \u201cMaking a bridge between Furman and the Woodlands\u2014that was our goal, which I think we achieved given the turnouts that we had, the joy that I got out of it, and the response from Woodlands residents,\u201d she said. \u201cAfter the lectures, many residents thanked us \u2026 It was really a blessing and good to hear. Being part of SLI turned out to be such a valuable couple of years for me.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Professor](\"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/218\/2022\/08\/TevisandRes-medium.jpg\")
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