'A Woman's Voice' to Feature Stories of Strong Women in History on March 27

Team Faculty Wins 'Trivia Night'

By Ramona Shelton

Motlow Buzz Managing Editor

            

        SMYRNA -- Back by popular demand this semester was "Trivia Night," hosted by the Motlow Smyrna History Club. Last year’s reigning champs, Stephen King’s I.T. (our wonderful IT crew), was not there to defend their crowns, so when the night started, everyone knew there would be a new team to win the bragging rights.

This year, eight teams participated, including six student teams made up of four to six members each and overseen by Professor Liala Syler. The competitors were rounded out by Team Faculty made up of professors Kate Benson, Nathan Fisher, Tamara Jones, and Adjunct/Librarian Extraordinaire Paige Hendrickson, as well as Team Doughnuts manned by the members of Diamond Doughnuts, our evening food vendor.

Several grueling rounds of questions came from all sorts of categories such as math, biology, chemistry, movies and TV shows, comic books and games, and of course the dreaded history questions.

The competition was stiff, but once the last question was answered, the winner was clear -- the Fall 2018 bragging rights go to Team Faculty!

If you think you have the chops to defeat them, History Club is planning the next "Trivia Night" for Spring 2019. Start getting your team together!

Celebrating Art

     SMYRNA -- Members of Motlow Smyrna's History, Diversity and SEAM clubs tour the Carolyn Ford Art Exhibit on March 16 at Eoff Hall Gallery on the Moore County campus. "Storyteller" featured more than 50 ceramic carvings depicting legendary scenes from all over the world. Club members met for lunch afterwards in Tullahoma. (Photo by Tamara Jones)

History Club to Sponsor Motlow Smyrna Cleanup Day on Feb. 24

In the Motlow Smyrna Spotlight: Ally Elliott

Interview By Ramona Shelton

Motlow Buzz Managing Editor

         Ally Elliott is president of the Criminal Justice Club, a charter member of the History Club, and a summer 2018 graduate of Motlow State Community College.

Question: Why did you choose Motlow Smyrna?

Answer: "I knew that I would be eligible for Tennessee Promise, but even before that, I already knew that I wanted to come here to Smyrna. Since I went to Smyrna High School, I had heard about Motlow and knew the classes would be smaller and that Motlow offered a ton of classes that I wanted to take."

Question: What advice would you give to a new freshman coming to Motlow Smyrna for the first time?

Answer: "I feel like there is a common misconception that community college isn’t real college. That if you go to community college it isn’t the same thing as going to university, but what people need to realize it that it is better. Being at Motlow gave me the chance to be a part of a family atmosphere. I have had the chance to make a ton of close friends and to get involved in so many things that I doubt I would have been able to at any university."

Question: You are the first president of the newly created Criminal Justice Club. Tell us what the club is all about?

Answer: "Our members have a huge appreciation for everything that our law enforcement community does to keep us safe and this is our chance to connect with them, to learn more about what they do. Last semester, club members participated in a 5K race sponsored by some of the police groups here in Middle Tennessee so that gave us a chance to connect with people in the field but not necessarily in a true “law enforcement” capacity. We’ve had booths at Club Days to get new members. In the future we hope to do some K-9 demos and maybe work with Habitat for Humanity."

Question: What are your plans for after you graduate from Motlow?

Answer: "When I was younger I imagined that I would just go to Florida and California bum around on the beach for a while before coming back here and buying a house to settle down. Now I have changed that and my plan is to take a little break but then go to MTSU to finish my Criminal Justice degree. My other option is to become a production assistant. I have always been interested in the production side of Hollywood, and I have some family connections there so that is always an option. But I definitely decided that education came first!"

Question: Tell us something interesting about yourself.

Answer: "I was lucky enough to travel to Europe several times over the last year. My family lives in Scotland and England, and we had several family weddings that I got to attend. My stepdad and I are both into creepy, adventurous things. During one of our wedding trips, we were wading in one of the waterways and noticed a very old convent that had once been a school. The building was a ruin, large holes in the walls and everything. But since the water was low, we discovered an old staircase that went from the water into the building." (Editor's note- that is something that sounds like a scene from a Nancy Drew mystery!)

"I have never had a job that didn’t connect to celebrities somehow. I have held several positions at celebrity 'meet-and-greets' including helping with crowd control. I learned that crowds don’t mind waiting to meet their favorite celebrities if you make them laugh while they are waiting in line. Thanks to these jobs, I have gotten to hang out with people like Ian Somerhalder and Norman Reedus."

This and That...

         As one last getting ready for the end of the semester hurrah, the History Club took its last trip of the semester to the Parthenon on Dec. 2. This much-visited icon of both Tennessee and Ancient Histories is a big draw for anyone wanting to learn more about Greek life and mythology as well as Tennessee’s Centennial Celebration. On a more modern note, it is also the home of a revolving exhibition showcasing the artwork of local artists. If you are interested in historical trips such as this or just want to get involved in club life, join the Motlow Smyrna History Club. Contact club advisor Ramona Shelton at rshelton@mscc.edu or club president Bien Espera at bespera0120@mscc.edu. Find the club on Facebook and Instagram as well!

***

         Professor Liala Syler, Rotaract club sponsor, wants to thank everyone for their generous donations to the Rotaract Baby Supply Drive. This drive was dedicated to helping a local soon-to-be mother who is now living in Tennessee after seeking refuge from a troubling home situation. The mountain of baby clothes, diapers and other supplies definitely made Professor Syler tear up a few times because so many people here at Motlow Smyrna willingly gave with absolutely no incentive other than helping someone in need, someone they are likely to never actually meet. The Motlow Smyrna family has definitely come together to help this needy mother during the holiday season.

Stephen King's I.T. Wins Trivia Night

         SMYRNA -- History Club’s "Trivia Night" was a splashing success! Open to students, faculty, and staff, teams competed for the right to show that they were the overall random knowledge leaders of Motlow Smyrna. Questions came from categories such as general knowledge, entertainment, science, technology, and of course… history. 

         And the winners were

         * First Place - Stephen King’s I. T.

         * Second Place - SEAM Club

         * Third Place - Team Austin

         In addition to the trivia contest, History Club also hosted a pizza and drink concession stand. Proceeds from the concession stand will go to support upcoming History Club events such as our trip to the Parthenon and an Angel Tree child.

         Thanks to everyone who supported this History Club event. If you didn’t get to participate this time, never fear! We have plans to host another "Trivia Night" during the Spring Semester. Start building your teams, watching "Jeopardy" to prep, and see if you can dethrone Stephen King’s I.T.

(Motlow Buzz Managing Editor Ramona Shelton submitted this report.)

History Club Goes Spooky With Ghost Tour

By Ramona Shelton

Motlow Buzz Managing Editor

     SMYRNA -- The Sam Davis Home is a local Smyrna landmark that many Motlow history students visit (especially if they choose to do the Historical Site Paper for my classes), but the typical house and grounds tour pales in comparison to the annual Sam Davis Home Ghost Tour, held only during the Halloween season. This year, the History Club had the chance to experience all the spookiness the Ghost Tour had to offer.

     Sam Davis is remembered as the “Boy Hero of the Confederacy” because as a teenager at the beginning of the Civil War, he signed up to be a runner for the Coleman Scouts, carrying messages and intelligence between Confederate leaders in the area. Sam was captured by the Union just north of the Alabama line and court martialed as a traitor. Given the chance to save his life if he gave up information on the rest of his group, Sam made the statement, “I would rather die a thousand deaths than betray a friend.” He was hanged in November 1863.

     In 35-degree, extremely windy weather, our intrepid little group of seven met at the site to see what ghosts awaited us. They added to the ambience by not having any lighting except for small candles along the way. Needless to say, between the cold and the dark, we were already a bit spooked before things even began. The special tour started off with a hayride throughout the grounds, following the route the wagon took when bringing Sam’s body home several weeks after he was executed in Pulaski, Tennessee. Our guide told us how Sam’s mother was in the upstairs of the house and fainted when she saw his casket being brought up the drive. On the hayride, we could see the shadows of people in the grassy areas but nothing prepared us for the “Rebel Yell” battle cry and cannon explosion that happened right beside the wagon. I’m pretty sure it scared our guide worse than the rest of us because he screamed louder than we did!

     Once we reached the house, we were taken into the parlor where another guide told us about how every family at the time had at least one prized family music box and the museum still includes one the family had had back in the day. They would have kept it in the parlor for guests to enjoy, but because it is so valuable, today it is mainly kept in the manager’s office. Still, when the house gets quiet, people have reported hearing the sounds of the music box playing. Our guide told us that the museum manager herself claims to have been sitting in her office, heard the music coming from the parlor, and gone to check, thinking someone might have put the box out for display. She returned to find it on her office shelf where it was supposed to be. We didn’t hear any music that night but it could be because we were really close to the aforementioned cannon explosion which left us with ringing ears.

     Next we went to the side porch where our guide told us about later generations of the Davis family having reported a young woman walking the porch, yet not making any noise at all. Thinking she needed help, the family members tried to talk to her, to get her to take them to wherever something was going on. Maybe she tried to do just that but she was able to go directly through the wall to her destination, and not being ghosts, the family members weren’t able to follow her. Granted, we didn’t see any ghosts but they point out the section of the wall the girl supposed vanished into. At the same time, a zombie Confederate soldier walked up behind us and started breathing very heavily. I am proud to say that I neither punched him nor bolted straight into the ghost wall, making a Ramona-shaped hole in my wake.

     Finally we met the last of our guides in the room where Sam’s body would have been taken in preparation for his burial. I think this was the saddest part of the tour because it was the most historical, least related to the ghost aspect of things. During the 1860s, bodies were embalmed with arsenic to help preserve them. The guide told us that bodies from earlier than this have been exhumed and because of the arsenic treatment, they actually had not decayed. It might be a while between a person’s death and their funeral, especially during wartime. If someone died as a part of mass casualties on the battlefield, of course they would not have received this treatment but being a solitary victim of execution, Sam’s body should have been given this process. Unfortunately, he was not; he was placed in a simple coffin and after three weeks, his family was allowed to retrieve him and bring him home for burial. You can imagine how things were at that point.

     If you have never been to the Sam Davis Home Ghost Tours before, I encourage you to put this on your bucket list for next Halloween. It definitely met the History Club seal of approval! We look forward to going back for the regular tour in the future… without the zombies and cannon explosions I hope!

We Heard It Through the Grapevine...

     That the History Club has elected its 2017-2018 officers:

     President-Bien Espera

     Vice President- Laura Rojas

     Secretary- Abby Mire

     Treasurer- Nicole Ashburn

     Event Coordinator- Kayla Dyer

     Communications Coordinators- Teara Gadbois and Ka Noog Yang

      Voting is under way for Harvest King and Queen. To vote, visit "My Motlow," then click on "Answer a Survey" under the "Personal Information Tab. Voting closes Oct. 29.

     The Smyrna Classroom Building has a new name: the Arthur Walker Building. A dedication ceremony occurred on Oct. 10.

     That there’s a new club on campus called SEAM: Smyrna Entertainment, Arts and Media Club. SEAM will debut with a table of "mysterious" activities during the upcoming Fall Festival.

     That the History Club will be hosting another Campus Cleanup Day in November… Keep an eye on your Motlow emails and The Motlow Buzz for more details! The club will host a Trivia Night on campus in November. Students can compete as individuals or teams. Win bragging rights! Pizza and drinks concessions will be available. Keep an eye on your Motlow email and The Motlow Buzz for more details!

 

History Club Scrubs and Cleans to Improve Smyrna Campus

By Ramona Shelton

Motlow Buzz Managing Editor

     If you noticed a Mountain Spring fresh smell or clean tables and chairs on campus as you came in last Monday morning, take the time to thank the folks who participated in the History Club’s "Campus Cleanup Day" project on Sept. 30.

     Eleven students gave up their Saturday morning to come in and scrub down the classroom tables and common areas in both buildings. This included the library, where one member of the group spent over two hours scraping gum from the bottom of all the tables (Author’s note- if you are the people sticking gum under the tables, what is wrong with you?!? This isn’t elementary school!).

 

     Student volunteers earned Tennessee Promise and/or FYE service hours for their participation in the project. The History Club will be hosting at least one more cleanup day before service hours are due in December. Be on the lookout for future emails with info on this.

     Special thanks to Stan Temple and George Ciprich for getting all the cleaning supplies for the event, and to Carol Rajchel for serving as our “general.”

In The Motlow Spotlight: History Club President Bien Espera

     Motlow Buzz Managing Editor Ramona Shelton recently interviewed History Club President Bien Espera. As you can see, this promising student is making a big difference on Motlow's Smyrna campus.

Bien Espera serves as president of the History Club on the Motlow Smyrna campus.

Question: What is your major?

Answer: “Currently, I plan to graduate from Motlow with an associate degree in General Studies as a foundation to a university transfer to either Cumberland University for a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics or MTSU with a bachelor’s degree in Physics and a minor in French.”

Question: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Answer: “I can’t say I fully know what I want to be when I grow up. One thing I would like to possibly open is a cat café due to my love of cats, coffee and tea. With it, I hope to give some cats from shelters a home. All in all, my definition of success is knowing the true value of life without materialism and having both financial stability and financial freedom.”

Question: Tell us something interesting about yourself.

Answer: “One interesting fact about me is my love of animals. I have a 4-month-old kitten named Athena, who is extremely feisty, quirky and full of personality, yet sweet, and a 15-year-old Chihuahua-Jack Russell mix named Brownie, who is rather a couch potato and snug bug, yet aggressive and protective like his Aztec and Mayan ancestors. I can prove that cats and dogs can get along! Another fact is my love for reading books and writing poetry. I began writing poems in middle school as a hobby because I saw something rather nifty about the self-expression of words using metaphors and symbolism. On top of it all, I enjoy playing piano as a de-stressor.”

Question: Why did you choose Motlow?

Answer: “During my senior year in high school, I took several Dual Enrollment classes at Motlow while simultaneously taking AP classes at LaVergne High School. As the year drew to a close, I wasn’t so sure which direction I should take because I graduated one year before Tennessee Promise started. However, I saw great education opportunities here at Motlow, such as inexpensive tuition, flexible schedules, amiable professors, and an idyllic atmosphere that I couldn’t pass up.”

Question: What is the best thing about Motlow Smyrna?

Answer: As a sophomore, I have attended Motlow for four semesters simultaneously balancing a hectic work schedule with an insane amount of homework only to find that the best thing about Motlow Smyrna is the helpfulness of each of my professors and the positive vibes they bring to every class period.”

Question: As History Club President, what do you hope to accomplish this year?

Answer: “As the History Club President, I hope to increase the involvement of our members, not only in the Smyrna area but also in the many communities around us to broaden our horizons while incorporating historical concepts when feasible. The concepts will not only include the war and political stories that we learn in World and American History classes but also the pop culture history from different time periods because history has a profound significance to our future growth in all kinds of professions and careers. This semester we have a tentative calendar planned for several on-site activities, historical site trips, and volunteer opportunities (beneficial for TN Promise students!). We are always welcoming new members throughout the year so please come to our events and make new friends!”

History Club to Host Campus Cleanup Day

Are you in need of Tennessee Promise service hours?

Come to the History Club’s Campus Cleanup Day from 9 a.m.-noon on Sept. 30.

Volunteers will spend Saturday morning cleaning the classrooms, common areas, café, library and grounds (so there will be projects for everybody!). Students can earn one to three service hours for Tennessee Promise.

Check in with Club Advisor Ramona Shelton in the café area of the STAH building and help us make Motlow shine!

Student Clubs Offer Opportunities to Network, Create, Volunteer and Have Fun

                SMYRNA, Tenn. – Motlow Smyrna has a host of clubs to provide opportunities for students to network, create, volunteer and just have fun.

                Last week, students and faculty sponsors manned tables in the STAH lobby during the college’s Smyrna Club Days. If you didn’t attend, you can still get involved. Here’s a list of student clubs with contact information.

Senator Cameron Droddy welcomes student Jordan Donalson to the SGA table during Smyrna Club Days.

Student Government Association (SGA)

Faculty Sponsors: Stacy Dowd, Nicole Speelman, and Bill Kraus

sdowd@mscc.edu or 220-7865

nspeelman@mscc.edu or 220-7879

wkraus@mscc.edu

History Club

Faculty Sponsor: Ramona Shelton

rshelton@mscc.edu  or 220-7942

Student Nurse Association

Faculty Sponsor: Cathy Simpson

csimpson@mscc.edu or 220-7831

Phi Theta Kappa

Faculty Sponsor: Misty Griffith

mgriffith@mscc.edu or 931-668-2117

COR Club

Faculty Sponsor: Kevin Fitch

kfitch@mscc.edu  or 220-7824

Biology Club

Faculty Sponsor: Mary Matthews

mmatthews@mscc.edu  or 220-7883

Diversity Club

Faculty Sponsors: Andrea Green and Paige Hendrickson

agreen@mscc.edu or 220-7947 (Primary)

phendrickson@mscc.edu or 220-7815

Rotaract Club

Faculty Sponsors: Liala Syler, Paige Hendrickson and Terry Durham

lsyler@mscc.edu or 220-7867 (Primary)

phendrickson@mscc.edu or 220-7815

tdurham@mscc.edu or 220-7885

Mathematics Club

Faculty Sponsor: Brian Mitchell

bmitchell@mscc.edu  or 220-7825

Forming Now: Smyna Entertainment, Arts & Media Club

Faculty Sponsors: Charles Whiting and Debra Stockdale

cwhiting@mscc.edu or 220-7948 (Primary)

dstockdale@mscc.edu

(Paige Henderson provided the information for this article.)

History Club faculty sponsor Ramona Shelton shares a table with charter member Ashton Sisco.

Christian Cifuentes mans the Diversity Club table during Smyrna Club Days.