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

A typical college student, he can be found playing board games into the early morning hours with his friends and often goes out on the weekends to watch the local bands play at neighborhood restaurants. Adjusted and sociable as he is, though, it is easy to see that Sam is not your normal college freshman. For instance, he enjoys spending his free time at the Special Collections archives in Hutchins Library listening to original recordings of traditional music. As well, he can often be found at the local park jamming on his banjo with his friends Jordan, on guitar, and Myra, on fiddle. His driving and broad passion for music makes him stand out at Berea as a force of talent and knowledge about the craft.

A first-year sophomore, Sam is an Appalachian Studies major with a Concentration in Appalachian Music. “I am absolutely in love with mountain music,” Sam explains, referring to both the bluegrass music of the region as well as the folk music of such greats as Jean Ritchie, Sheila Kay Adams, and popular artists Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. “Music kind of plays two roles for me,” he posits, “I have an academic interest in it, but it’s also a great release.”

Sam was first introduced to Berea College through a high school guidance counselor who suggested he apply for one of Berea’s Pinnacle Scholar Awards of Excellence. Sam applied for the award in the area of music and won it. After that, he says, “[The college] put me and my dad up, and we came and toured the campus. That was it for me.” So he wrote his essay (about state park service projects he had participated in) and prepared for his interview. “I went back to the little room for the interview, shaking like a leaf,” he recalls, “but the guy was so warm and friendly and kind, you know, and we ended up talking about Jean Ritchie’s music for a good while.”

‘I meet people here who I feel like I’ve known my whole life, but they’re from all across the United States, and the world, really.’

When Sam received his letter in the mail, it included a certificate for his four-year tuition scholarship, historically awarded to all Berea students. “That was a real eye-opener for me,” says Sam, “because I did not take that gift for granted.”

As far as the town itself, Sam doesn’t find Berea much different from Wythe County, Virginia, where he’s from. “When I see people on the street,” he explains, “I greet them the same as I would back home.” However, because of Berea’s unique commitments to interracial and international education, there is a much more diverse population to greet. Sam comments, “I meet people here who I feel like I’ve known my whole life, but they’re from all across the United States, and the world, really.” That includes his guitar-playing best friend Jordan Engel, who hails from Rochester, New York.

Since coming to Berea, Sam cites his Bluegrass Ensemble director Al White as a great musical influence and teacher. His guidance is paving the way for Sam’s future career path: to be a music teacher. “I guess my long term goal is to play here [through college],” he muses, “and then travel around the region, maybe do a residency in the public school system.” Wherever he lands, though, he’s taken something from Berea. As he puts it, “I’ve found the most in common with people who I thought were so different from me. It’s really shown me a lot about the threads that tie us together as people. “

Tommy Boykin

When you first meet Tommy, he’s likely to ask your opinion on something like if you think he should be a research physicist or a motivational speaker. While an unlikely start to a first conversation, it’s the kind of thing you can expect from Tommy: a thoughtful question asked with a sincere desire to hear what you have to say. You can also expect Tommy to smile. Tommy is always smiling or about to smile. In fact, when you ask him about it, he smiles, and says, “I choose to approach everything in life with a smile.”

Tommy never has a bad day. Not that he leads a charmed life; he just always chooses to see the positive in everything. Like the day he had both a physics exam and a calculus exam. Faced with two major tests in two difficult classes, most students would redline on stress, pulling all nighters, eating junk food, sharing their fears and anxieties with anyone who will listen.

‘I am unwilling to allow someone else to define for me what I am, and am not, capable of.’

But not Tommy. He was smiling that day. Did he study? Of course. But he also chose to get 8 hours of sleep and eat a good breakfast. And there were no words of worry that morning from Tommy, only a thoughtful smile and a vote of confidence in himself: “I know that I am ready.”

Tommy carries a heavy load of courses for a freshman. His first semester schedule includes physics and calculus, along with core education courses—called “GSTR’s” at Berea. In his carefully planned free time, he also participates in the Contemporary Percussion ensemble, runs as an “unofficial” member of the Berea College Cross Country team, and participates in the Student Judicial Board. His short-term goal is to transform his love for drumming into a position with the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps, based in Rosemont, Illinois.

Tommy was not always the greatest drummer, either. In fact in the 6th grade, he was strongly encouraged to play just about anything else. But Tommy’s heart was set on the drums and with his Mom’s support and thousands of hours of practice, he became the section leader of the Homewood drum line in Birmingham. This fall, he’ll audition with the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps for the third time. “I’ve just missed making the corps twice, but I’m praying that this is my year.”

Long-term, Tommy hopes to earn his Ph.D. in physics and either teach or work for NASA.