Southern Fall/Winter 2022

PANTHER
PARTNERSHIPS
In its 10th year, the Panther Partnerships Mentoring Program continues
to create connections between current students and professionals in the
surrounding community. (Read more about the program’s origins and its longlasting
impact on page 20.) In November, BSC announced the 2022-2023 class
of 31 students and 31 mentors, including 12 BSC alumni. During the intensive,
structured mentoring program, volunteer mentors help students achieve
individualized goals in pursuit of their educational and career ambitions.
THE 2022-2023 PANTHER PARTNERS ARE:
• Khalil Almansoob, a senior business
administration major, mentored by
Praveena Sundarraj, owner at Dryft Coffee
• Briahna Ballay, a sophomore pre-health
major, mentored by Dr. Sharon
Spencer ’79, professor of radiation
oncology at University of Alabama
Birmingham (UAB)
• Sadie Bekurs, a junior biology major,
mentored by Dr. Jennifer Kerlin, associate
veterinarian at Riverview Animal Clinic
• Madison Blair, a senior English major,
mentored by Elizabeth Mason ’17,
attorney at Scozzaro Law, LLC
• Abby Rose Branham, a senior health
science major, mentored by Nicole Malegni
’20, genomics lab specialist at Discovery Life
Sciences
• Sam Cortez, a senior psychology major,
mentored by Bert Pitts ’81, clinical
psychologist and practice owner at Pitts &
Associates, Inc.
• Matthew Dale, a junior biology major,
mentored by Dr. Adolphus Jackson,
dentist at West Princeton Dental Clinic
• AnnaRuth Dorris, a junior health science
major, mentored by Teirrah Stroman,
food Scientist and nutrition health coach at
Health 2 The Tee
• Aliya Epps, a senior psychology major,
mentored by Chelsea Brown, certified
child life specialist at Children’s of Alabama
• Garrett Frye, a junior business
administration major, mentored by Jordan
Cole, financial planner at Nowlin &
Associates
• Honey Green, a junior psychology
major, mentored by Nanci Scarpulla ’99,
licensed professional counselor at Potentia
Counseling, LLC
• Anna Howton, a sophomore chemistry
major, mentored by Dr. Rupa Kitchens,
urologist at Urology Centers of Alabama
• Alex Huggins, a junior psychology major,
mentored by Tiffany Owens ’07, HR business
partner at Jefferson County Commission
• Xuan Huynh, a sophomore business
administration major, mentored by Mitesh
Shah ’99, vice president and general
manager Alabama Division at Vulcan
Materials Company
• Michaela Jackson, a senior applied
computer science major, mentored by Drew
Scogin, Sr. ’08, engineering manager at
Motorola Solutions
• Izzy Lambert, a senior business
administration major, mentored by
Kate Darden, strategic sales executive at
Stericycle Communication Solutions
• Zionne McCrear, a senior biology major,
mentored by Dr. Lauren Nassetta ’01,
pediatric hospitalist, associate director of
Pediatrics Residency Program, and Chief
Wellness Officer at UAB Department of
Pediatrics
• Jalen McDade, a sophomore biology
major, mentored by Dr. Jamie Aye,
assistant professor of pediatrics at University
of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
• Byron Millsap III, a sophomore health
science major, mentored by Gerick
Marshall, RN nurse manager at UAB
Hospital (Trauma Recovery Unit)
• Elia Ortega Arista, a senior business
administration major, mentored by Dr.
Sharon Day, optometrist at Day Eye Care
• Helen Poplin, a junior English major,
mentored by Albert Key ’92, author who
writes under the name Watt Key
• Sydney Scarpulla, a junior psychology
major, mentored by Dr. Sarah Ryan,
psychologist at UAB Civitan Sparks Clinics
• Julia Smiertelny, a senior philosophy,
history, and law major, mentored by
Luke Hunt, assistant professor at
University of Alabama
• Leah Smith, a junior English major,
mentored by Carla Jean Whitley,
communications manager at Brasfield &
Gorrie
• Victoria Terry, a senior English major,
mentored by Tina Mozelle Braziel, poet
and director of the Ada Long Creative
Writing Workshop at UAB
• Kenneth Toledo, a junior business
administration major, mentored by
McKenzie Shappley ’04, vice president -
internal audit at Protective Life Corporation
• Nicole Villavicencio-Garduño, a
sophomore applied computer science
major, mentored by Erin Snell ‘17,
operations specialist at Shipt
• Martha Louise Waters, a senior
business administration major, mentored
by Jennifer Gowers, president at GoPro
Event Solutions
• Anna Withers Wellingham, a junior
political science major, mentored by
Dagney Johnson, attorney, The Dagney
Johnson Law Group, LLC
• Rominey Willner, a senior applied
computer science major, mentored by Lora
Vaughn ’04, senior director of security
operations at Fastly, Inc.
Linda Flaherty-Goldsmith,
BSC’s 15th president, founded
— and generously sponsored —
Panther Partnerships in 2012.
“It’s a way to give our students handson,
one-on-one advice tailored to their
pre-professional needs,” she said on the
program’s launch. “And it gets them ready
to land on their feet when they graduate.”
FALL/WINTER 2022 / 11