Photography by Huy Linh, Erica Cook and Yeshi Tsomo

Rev. Gail E. Bowman in Danforth Chapel

“So far as we know, at Emancipation, the Bowman family came off a plantation somewhere in Kentucky (!), moved west to work the soft coal mines in northern Missouri then moved north into Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota when those mines played out around the turn of the century. My grandfather was born in Iowa, and so was my dad. Only 2% of the population in Iowa is black. My sister and I were the only black kids in our elementary school classes. It was rough.”

One of the challenges of being a minority, then and now, was race-based assumptions. “When I was about 8 years old, my parents became concerned because my report cards from school reflected poorer performance than they could understand. They made an appointment to go talk to the people at school and were told I was simply not too bright. I didn’t hear about this until I was an adult. They just told me to keep working…hard.”

“As I grew older I began to appreciate my parents’ position — my family’s position — on the matter of race, of being black in America at that time. My parents were both well-educated and recognized that the nation was changing, and that there were opportunities in place that had never been there before. They felt a burden, whether it was ever expressed like this or not, that blacks in their position were building a bridge for others to cross over. Consequently, my sister and I were expected to behave ourselves, do well in school, and be above reproach.

“My closest association with other black kids came through church. At that time, going to church was something black people felt compelled to do for an assortment of reasons. But to be honest, I wasn’t buying it. There was this sign at the front of the church that said ‘God is Love.’ But that wasn’t the message I was hearing in the preaching. I was hearing that God was ticked off at us because of what we did. And the people teaching Sunday school couldn’t answer my questions, so beyond believing in God, I wasn’t sure what to think.”

After high school Bowman enrolled in the University of Iowa. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, though. While I was there I had seven different majors. My father was somewhat concerned about my numerous changes in major. One semester I took a course in Swahili and I remember getting a call from him: ‘What’s the matter? Aren’t they teaching French down there?’”

Three semesters deep in college, Bowman was at home when a friend of her father’s came for dinner and opened the subject of what she wanted to do after she graduated. He asked if she’d given law school any thought. When Bowman responded that the problem with that plan was that she would have to major in political science, he responded that she could just as easily major in history. She returned to school, began a history major, and later added a second major in political science.

“I did well on the LSAT exam and my dad and I discussed what law school I should attend. He asked if I’d considered Harvard. I said it had crossed my mind but the application fee was too expensive. He said, ‘If I pay, will you apply?’ and I said Why not? I ended up getting accepted.” However, a week before Bowman started law school at Harvard, the family got word that her mother had breast cancer.

“The entire time I was in Harvard Law School my mother was fighting a long and painful battle with cancer. At one point I confessed to my mother that I didn’t know if I should continue. But she was adamant. She made me promise that I would finish. And I did.” Bowman’s mother died in the fall after Bowman graduated.

Bowman chose Washington, D.C. as the place to practice law, working first for a small firm and then for the Senate Judiciary Committee during the Carter Administration. When the Democrats lost the Senate (Reagan election in 1980) all the Democratic staffers, including Bowman, lost their jobs. Bowman accepted a proposal of marriage and moved to Los Angeles to take the California bar exam and prepare for the wedding, but the relationship “crashed and burned.” She returned to Washington to look for work and try to put her life back together. She found a position on the House side of Capitol Hill and worked on several exciting initiatives, including the creation of the Martin Luther King national holiday. Then she began to recognize that all was not well with her.

“There were two events that I consider spiritual that set me on the path to ministry. The first was the suffering death of my mother. I was not able to get past that. The other was that I was not enjoying my work. I finally prayed what I did not then realize was a ‘dangerous’ prayer. I promised that if God told me what I should do with my life, I would do it. I had not thought, in my wildest dreams, that a ‘call’ to ministry was coming, but that’s what happened.”

At this point, Bowman was not even a member of a church. A friend put together a list of possible churches and Bowman began trying them, one at a time. “Finally, I walked into a church and knew immediately that I was in the right place. After the service I made an appointment to come back and talk to the minister. During that meeting I told him ‘I think I’ve been called to the ministry.’ He seemed pretty startled but then he asked if I’d been baptized and I said, ‘Of course. I was baptized in the AME church,’ and he said, ‘Oh no, that won’t do. You need to be baptized by immersion!’ When the scheduled date came around I showed up with my hair cut off very short.  I didn’t want to have to try to keep my hair dry; I wanted to get completely wet. What I didn’t realize was that this church thought the long hair on a woman’s head is her ‘glory’ and I’d just defiled it. We proceeded when I confessed I was unaware of that passage. After the baptism the pastor sent me to his friend, Lawrence Jones, at the Howard University Divinity School. Dean Jones recommended that I apply; I did, and that’s where I ended up going.

“From the very first night, I loved divinity school. This is where all those questions I had asked in Sunday School were being answered. I really got my money’s worth, because I arrived not knowing much more than the 23^rd Psalm, and that there are four Gospels. I enjoyed writing papers there. One professor asked me where I learned to write like that and I said ‘in law school.’ (Law school, I figure, is the perfect generic graduate school experience.) All in all, I was in seminary for four years because I started out part-time.”

After seminary, Rev. Gail E. Bowman could not find a job in the D.C. area. None of the black churches there hired female pastors. She ended up at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary.

“I enjoyed working there (PTS). I loved hanging out with the Presbyterians, but my job there was administrative and the President of the seminary told me I did it so well I’d probably never be given any other position there. So I started checking out all the appropriate papers for job openings. I had accumulated a big stack of periodicals in my office and was on the verge of sending them all to recycling when something made me yank one from the stack and flip through it one more time. I saw an ad from Spelman College in Atlanta (historically black, all female) — they were looking for a College Minister. The possibility of that was so exciting I couldn’t apply fast enough.” She ended up spending five years at Spelman.

“Then, during a change of administration at Spelman, a representative from Dillard University (historically black, co-ed) in New Orleans turned up in my office asking me to consider a move. It took two visits, but I finally did. New Orleans wasn’t an immediate hit with me but Dillard was.  I adored it. By the end of that first year I began to ‘get’ New Orleans, and eventually identified it as the ‘home on earth’ I had always been looking for. Then, in 2001, we got one of the massive grants from Lilly, one of the PTEV’s (Programs for the Theological Exploration of Vocation), and we were set with funding to try all kinds of exciting initiatives.” Things went well until August of 2005.

“The Dillard campus, my home and the homes of lots of our staff and faculty were in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans which was completely inundated by flood water from the Katrina disaster. Here’s the most effective way I’ve heard of expressing the damage done to the university by the flood: Debris removal ALONE cost $25.9 million. We could not return to the city for four months. Many of us finally returned on December 16, 2005, moving into a downtown hotel that would serve as our campus for the next seven months. I had been told all was lost in our area; ‘throw your keys away.’ Coming on campus, I ran into some facilities people who told me my office was okay. So I found my keys, which I had not, thankfully, thrown away, and went in and the only thing that I saw different was a line of silt on the windowsill. The chapel itself was fine, it had not flooded. We had roof damage, but that was it. The chapel was the only building on campus that did not flood.”

“Having the chapel functional helped us a great deal in the months of rebuilding. We were able to have an outdoor graduation ceremony in July ’06 on campus by staging it out of the chapel. Of course, we had to set-up port-a-potties and fresh water because nothing was working. The landscaping was not the usual beautiful Dillard landscaping. But we were back.

Life on campus returned to normal very slowly. “In some ways, rebuilding the physical structure was easier than re-building our spirit. That was such a tough journey. Katrina posed huge issues for us theologically. Lots of folks voicing opinions in the mass media blamed the devastation on the sin of New Orleans. One of the things that offset that meanness was the enormous out-pouring of prayer and help. The help — the importance and the value of it — was indescribable.

“I love New Orleans. There are so many races of people there, and so much cultural exchange. Mardi Gras, with its peculiar history, is just one of many ways people have invented to be together and enjoy each other. I didn’t always go. Sometimes I just stayed at home and worked (I’m a writer on the side). But it felt so good knowing that, around me, my city was having a good time.”

On May 18, 2012, Rev. Gail E. Bowman, J.D., said good bye to Dillard University in an eloquent letter that can be read online (see link, below) and, a short time later, she appeared at Berea College and assumed the roles of Director of the Willis D. Weatherford, Jr. Campus Christian Center and College Chaplain.

Rev. Bowman in one of the Danforth Chapel gardens.

“Berea is so interesting! There is so much to learn here. The community and what we are trying to do resonates with me because it brings together so many aspects of my life experience. Berea is race, it is history, it is possibility, it is quality; it’s Appalachia but it’s also the world. Our convictions require us to get along with each other differently than many other schools, and the struggle to live up to God’s expectations of us keeps us moving. This realization — that this was God’s project first — is part of what makes the Campus Christian Center central to the mission. Howard Thurman (African American theologian and author, favorite writer of Martin Luther King, Jr.) said ‘A crown is placed over our heads that for the rest of our lives we are trying to grow tall enough to wear.’ The ideals of Berea, our commitments, are such a crown, and we in the CCC are honored that we have a role to play in the everyday and overall growth of this ‘beloved community.’”

***

Related links:

• Gail E. Bowman’s Baccalaureate speech at Stanford University before the class of 2011
• Gail E. Bowman author page at Amazon.com
• Reverend Gail Bowman Bids Farewell to Dillard

Photography by Alicia Carman ’13 and Doug Widner

Hong Durandal

Many business majors just hope to get a good job once they’re out of college. Berea College senior Hong Durandal, however, can’t wait that long. He has started his own local energy consulting firm — Energy Hunters — which he runs and balances with his schoolwork and labor position at the college. This isn’t just some pie-in-the-sky, glorified lemonade stand business, either. Oh no, you can watch former president Bill Clinton speak about Energy Hunters at its website (link below). Obviously, this is a great achievement regardless of the circumstances, but it is especially impressive if you know Hong’s unconventional journey to America, to Berea, and to the field of sustainability.

Hong first heard about Berea College from one of his teachers at his high school in Bolivia. He was an excellent student throughout his school years and also a great volunteer. He worked with underprivileged children, teaching them English and helping them with their math lessons. His teacher thought he would be a great fit for Berea College, and she was right. Hong’s academic record and potential, his drive to succeed, and his inclination to help others are all traits Berea College looks for, and motivates, in its students. Founded by abolitionist pastors in the mid 1800s, Berea College has historically encouraged an interracial and coeducational setting, when state and federal laws have allowed, for students who come from backgrounds where they otherwise might not have had the opportunity to afford a college education. Primarily serving students from Appalachia, Berea has recently made great strides to recruit international students. Currently, 7% of current Berea College students come from another country.

Hong seized the opportunity and applied to Berea College his senior year. “It was a life-changing opportunity,” Hong recounts, “I was full of joy and could not really believe the great opportunity that was waiting for me. I was the only one in my entire country in a very long time to go abroad with such an amazing opportunity to study in the U.S.” Coming to Berea was a major transition, though. Not only did Hong have to adjust to college life, but he had to do it in a country foreign to his own. However, “at the beginning everything was beautiful and wonderful,” Hong explains, “I wanted to learn and develop with every new experience I encountered. That feeling of being interested about new things helped me cope with the new culture and adapt fairly quickly.” Although he was alone in the States, he formed friends quickly, and excelled in his studies.

Early on at Berea, Hong discovered and joined Berea’s Entrepreneurship for the Public Good program (EPG). The EPG program encourages and instructs students to become organizers and innovators in their local communities. Durandal refers to his time with EPG as “one of the most significant periods in my education. I truly connected with the faculty and staff. Dr. [Peter] Hackbert, EPG Director, and Mr. [David] Cooke, program coordinator of EPG, were always open to help me beyond the classroom. I connected to them as friends and mentors that guided me through my entrepreneurial growth.”

It was this experience and the knowledge he gained from his classes that led him to create Energy Hunters, a firm that helps businesses, households, and institutions realize energy savings, as well as improve their comfort, health, and safety. “Our goal is to make sure energy is truly saved and reported accordingly,” explains Hong, who coordinates the energy audits and improvements as well as being in charge of the core operations and developing new opportunities.

“Energy is the backbone of any country, especially the United States, who is currently leading the world in consumption of fossil fuels,” Hong states. He promotes using alternative forms of energy, but what he really focuses on is energy efficiency. Says Hong, “While doing my 2010 internship, I encountered numerous unprivileged families in Texas that had to sacrifice their comfort and even their health to try to lower their high energy bills. The ability to reduce an energy bill, or in some way help a family gave me pride in what I was doing.”

With humble beginnings, Energy Hunters started as a project to perform energy audits for six members of Sustainable Berea. Now it has state and federal recognition through the ENERGY STAR program and other housing authority entities, and has been recognized by the Clinton Global Initiative.

Though it keeps him busy, Hong thoroughly enjoys his work. “I love the independence and creativity that can come through working with other businesses.” Building relationships is Hong’s “favorite part.” He has big plans for Energy Hunters, too, “The ultimate goal is to expand globally and use the potential of energy efficiency as a stepping stone for a renewable energy future, when the world will be able to use efficient renewable energy much easier than it is able to today.”

Hong is a hard worker, a true entrepreneur and an innovator. He will go very far with his skills in this uncertain economy on a planet with an uncertain future. He gives much thanks and appreciation to Berea College for coming this far. “There are several lessons I have learned at Berea College that serve me for my business and my life. All the tools of business that the business department taught me have been essential. Another lesson is to appreciate people for their assistance and help. Being able to practice that in my life has made me a good entrepreneur and human being. Another important lesson that I remember: The first convocation I attended featured (Berea College) President Shinn, whose message was to learn to live simply and in a sustainable way, and to enjoy the simple things in life. This is the greatest lesson I will take with me.”

Related links:

• Energy Hunters
• Entrepreneurship for the Public Good (Berea College)
• Sustainable Berea

Dr. Ed McCormack

Sit down for a minute and enjoy this story. Our story-teller is Professor Edward McCormack, part of the Economics and Business faculty at Berea College.

“The Kentucky Society of CPAs (KYCPA) sponsored a Jeopardy-style statewide competition on April 21, 2011, in concert with their annual banquet. The contest is called PEAK, for Promoting and Encouraging Accounting in Kentucky. The annual banquet happened on the evening after the PEAK competition. The banquet is an event in which scholarships are presented to students at colleges and universities across the state and, more importantly, the new CPAs who are receiving their certificates and licenses to practice are sworn in.  It is a special evening celebrated by members of the profession, sworn to honor the public trust and uphold the highest standards of professional conduct.

“There are typically about 500 people at the banquet. The winners of that day’s PEAK contest were to be honored at the banquet; each member of the four person team was to receive a $1,000 scholarship. And the team was to receive a nice trophy to take back to their school until next year’s PEAK contest (at which point they’d either win the trophy again or give it up to a new winning team). April 21, 2011 This was the first year of the competition; it was held at The Galt House in Louisville.

“I took a group of our accounting students and Professor Trish Isaacs from Berea’s business faculty joined us there. There were six schools represented: the big schools with highly developed accounting programs were Western Kentucky University, Eastern Kentucky University, and Morehead State University. The University of the Cumberlands, which also has an accounting major, and Lindsey Wilson College were also there.  The Jeopardy-style competition used CPA exam questions — not easy stuff. This material requires a strong accounting and business curriculum and tremendous powers of quantitative reasoning and critical thinking, stuff that relates closely to our strong liberal arts focus.

“The competition was in two rounds. It began with a drawing to determine which three teams go in the first round, and which three in the second.  We were in the first round, drawing in with Lindsey Wilson and University of the Cumberlands.

An interesting aside: “Our team was the most diverse team at the competition.  We had a young woman  from Kyrgyzstan (Sasha Solomatova), a young woman from North Carolina whose parents were from Mexico (Alicia Diaz), a young man from Viet Nam (Trung “Alex” Huynh), and a young man from Nigeria (Ehis Acketuamhen, winner of Berea’s Seabury award).  They are all very strong students, but they were not confident going in.  They commented about how they had researched the competition on the web, and that the others came from schools with full blown accounting majors while we only had a concentration.

“Well, we won the first round by a comfortable margin.

“They took the winners of the first two rounds, along with the team with the next highest point total to make the three teams in the second round.  That put us against Eastern and Morehead.  In the second round the point totals are doubled, like in Jeopardy, so rather than being ‘Auditing for 100, 200, etc. points,’ it is now ‘Auditing for 200, 400…’

“We had a score of 8,600 going into the final Jeopardy round, a margin large enough that we were guaranteed the win as long as we didn’t wager too much on the final jeopardy question.   We missed the final jeopardy question but only wagered 200 points, so we still came away with a comfortable win.

“What a moment! I have never been more proud of a bunch of kids in my life!

“At the banquet that evening, each of our team members received their $1,000 scholarship, and we brought home a huge trophy that I hope we can keep for many years.

“It was so awesome to be in that room during the contest.  The atmosphere was pressure-packed.  The fellow in the ‘Alex Trebec-role’ kept saying, after each question, when the buzzer went off, ‘Berea College’ and then ‘That is Correct!’  Everyone in the room but us got tired of hearing ‘Berea College.’”

And about the remarkable young people who dazzled all on April 21, Professor McCormack gives an update:

“Of the four team members, two (Alex and Sasha) are interning with Big 4 accounting firms this summer (2011), and one who is graduating (Ehis) has accepted a full time position with a Big 4 firm (KPMG in New York City).  One of the team members (Alex Huynh) also received an additional $1,000 scholarship from the KYCPA at the Banquet, and one of our Alums (Andrea Paezold-Ruhel) received her CPA certificate (she graduated only 1 1/2 years ago).”

Counter clockwise, left to right: Trung “Alex” Huynh, Alicia Diaz, Sasha Solomatova, Ehis Acketuamhen

Related links:

• Promoting & Encouraging Accounting in Kentucky (PEAK)
• Kentucky Society of Certified Public Accountants (KYCPA)
• About Berea’s Concentration in Accounting

Photography by Ray Davis ’11