McKenzie King relays for family friend, encourages others to join

When one of McKenzie King’s family friends was diagnosed with breast cancer, she knew she wanted to make an impact on the cancer community for the rest of her life. “It just seems like the longer you live, the longer you know people that have either had it [cancer] directly or know someone who has had cancer,” said King, whose passion for the fight fuels her participation in Relay for Life. King, a senior molecular biology major from Omaha, Nebraska, was first impacted by cancer during her sophomore year in high school. King watched Sydney Vanderspuy, a close family friend, fight cancer. She also saw the effects of cancer first-hand with her pastor and a close friend in the Army. King’s interest in the cancer community didn’t stop when she came to Lipscomb. During her sophomore year at Lipscomb she volunteered at the Hope Lodge, a home-like environment cancer patients and their caregivers can stay at during treatment. During her time as a volunteer, she was able to connect with cancer patients by giving tours of Nashville and providing transportation to treatment. It was also during her sophomore year that she became a part of the Relay for Life committee. As King has grown closer to the committee over the years, she is especially looking forward to staying up and having fun this year. “Looking back, I think that the most enjoyable part for me is staying up a little bit later, because as you go on throughout the night we never stop doing anything.” At this year’s event, there will be Zumba, yoga, lip sync, ping-pong, zorb ball soccer and inflatables...

101st Airborne drop in for Veterans Eve Celebration

Lipscomb’s Veteran Services hosted a Veterans Eve Celebration that involved a parachute demonstration onto the quad Monday morning. The 101st Airborne Division, the Army’s oldest parachute jump team, flew through the air above campus before two jumpers, one carrying a POW flag and the other the American flag, descended onto the field. Students and members of the community lined the sidewalks around the quad in front of the Burton Science building to watch the demonstration. Prior to the jump, the national anthem was performed by the Lipscomb Jazz Ensemble. Then Lipscomb student and Marine Corps Corporal Matt Proctor gave the invocation.  As part of the ceremony, an American flag was presented to veteran Christopher Long, and a Tennessee state flag was presented to Dean Scott McDowell. Before the end of the ceremony, Lieutenant Colonel John Sapp spoke about the event and about the importance of Lipscomb’s Yellow Ribbon Program that allows veterans to come home and receive an education. He also talked about being thankful for veterans as well, and Dean McDowell closed out the ceremony with a round of thanks. Lipscomb’s Yellow Ribbon Program works hard to create an encouraging and beneficial community for veterans. Corporal Proctor talked a little bit about how they hope to build a connection between veterans and traditional undergraduate students. “There’s an opportunity for those undergraduate’s to see the life experience that veterans have, and the face of war is sometimes very different than the faces of a traditional undergraduate student,” Proctor said. “There’s a lot that can be learned in order to communicate outside of the undergraduate experience.” Proctor was also very...

Jim Humphrey takes charge as Lipscomb’s new Director of Security

There’s a new sheriff in town. Lt. Col. Jim Humphrey, a 22-year veteran of the Army and Air Force, brings enthusiasm and experience to his new job as director of security at Lipscomb. Humphrey served as a long range surveillance scout in the Army and a mission support officer in the Air Force. He said his military background and personality seemed to be a wise fit when senior administrators presented him with the offer. “It rolled in pretty well with me and my personality,” Humphrey said. “I was intrigued by it, and I like a new challenge so I took it on.” In addition to his new role, Humphrey will continue to work as the assistant dean of students and the director of veteran services. When asked about how he manages all of these roles, Humphrey said it has a lot to do with time management and being surrounded by a host of additional leadership. “I’m very blessed I have an assistant director to help me run veteran services in April Herrington. I have two assistant directors to help me run security in Patrick Cameron and Davis Cagle,” Humphrey said. “Without those folks and those key leaders, it would be an overwhelming challenge.” Humphrey said he is comfortable in his new role as the director of security and that the state of security on campus is “very good.” “Five years ago they had  just a handful of people walking around with a polo shirt and a pair of pants, so the ability to enforce anything was difficult at best,” said Humphrey. Campus now has a 24/7 dispatch center and...