Mary Lewis Poindexter Dassinger ’96 of Little Rock, Ark., received the Ethel K. Millar Award for Religion and Social Awareness and will be honored at Hendrix College’s 37^th annual Steel-Hendrix Awards. Dassinger is the project coordinator for 200,000 More Reasons, a special initiative of the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church to fight childhood hunger and poverty. She also chairs the Faith Relations Committee for the Arkansas Food Bank, serves as a board member for the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, and serves on several committees for the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church.

LaKisha Cargill ’00, Birmingham entrepreneur, was featured in Birmingham Times as she prepares to launch her apparel company, Real Inspiring Black Sista (RIBS). Cargill recently won startup funds from Women’s Empowerment 360, a national YWCA pitch competition designed to support women and women of color in their innovative business ventures. As a breast cancer survivor who was moved by inspirational sayings during her recovery, Cargill wants to uplift women through motivational T-shirts and other comfort wear.

Matthew Lambert ’01 of Albertville, Ala., was selected for the DeKalb County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 and will be inducted in June. As a student-athlete at BSC, Lambert played in the 2000 NAIA College Baseball World Series and returned in 2001 to claim the 2001 NAIA National Championship with the Panthers. In July 2021, he was hired as Albertville High School’s new athletic director and as assistant athletic director for Albertville City Schools, where he has coached baseball since 2016.

William King ’15 was accepted to Johns Hopkins University and will begin completing his graduate work in biotechnology. King will move to Hanover, N.H., to take a position as a research associate in the myeloid cell biology lab at The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College.

Denzel Okinedo ’16, attorney at Burr and Forman LLP, was named one of the Birmingham Business Journal’s 2021 NextGEN winners and promising leaders in the Magic City. Okinedo serves as president-elect of BSC's Young Alumni Council.

Willie Williams, Jr. ’18 was featured among Bham Now’s “7 Black Artists You’ll Want to Check Out Now.” Williams, owner of Studio 2500 in North Birmingham, works primarily with metal, and many of his most iconic sculptures are metalwork depicting Black figures. He often focuses on Black pride and Black identity in his own work and the exhibitions in his gallery.

Dr. Jessica Hines, assistant professor of English, published her first essay of the year in Emerson College’s Ploughshares, focusing on Joel Coen’s 2021 film “The Tragedy of Macbeth.” This essay is Hines’ first piece as a new regular contributor to the literary magazine.

Dr. William Holt, associate professor of urban environmental studies, recently published “Shaking Off the Rust in the American South: Deindustrialization, Abandonment, and Revitalization in Bessemer, Alabama,” in Vulnerable Communities: Research, Policy, and Practice in Small Cities (Cornell University Press). Holt’s work examines how the former industrial center of the American South rebuilt its economy around manufacturing and distribution creating $1.9 billion in investment. BSC students in his urban and environmental sociology courses worked with Bessemer city officials through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s College and Underserved Communities Program on surveys and interviews.

Dr. David Phy, director of bands, was a guest performer on jazz trombone with the Jacksonville State University Jazz Band at the Alabama Music Educators Association’s annual conference on Jan. 21. Under the direction of Andy Nevala, Phy was featured on “African Skies,” composed by Michael Brecker, and on “A Single Sky” by Dave Douglas.

Dr. Ream Shoreibah, associate professor of marketing, is a recipient of the annual AMD Creative Women Making Waves Award, which honors 10 trailblazing women who have positively impacted the Birmingham area through business. AMD Creative, a Birmingham-based branding and design agency, notes the ways Shoreibah uplifts women in business through her classes on marketing and social media.

Dr. Freda Beth Stone ’50 of Evansville, Ind., on Dec. 17, 2021. Stone earned degrees from BSC and Vanderbilt University before interning at the University of Iowa Psychopathic Hospital and earning her Ph.D. in psychology from Washington University. She completed her mental health assessments and psychological testing certifications for all ages in Iowa City and Des Moines, Iowa, and Maui, Hawaii. She served as a psychologist at Southwestern Indiana Mental Health Center for 32 years and later at the Lampion Center, focusing on children’s mental health. During her life in Evansville, Stone was an active member in the community, a supporter of local artists, a lover of words and books, and a cherished friend.

Dr. Richard “Dick” Raycraft ’62 of Austin, Texas, on Jan. 12, 2022. Raycraft served in the U.S. Marine Corps for two years before studying philosophy at BSC. He began his career as a reporter for the Birmingham Post-Herald during the Civil Rights Movement and, after writing about Harris County for the Houston Chronicle, went on to work as a U.S. State Department advisor in Vietnam. Returning to Houston in 1968, Raycraft served as a meeting coordinator for Harris County Commissioners Court. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Houston in the 1970s with a thesis on Texas county budget processes, leading to his role as the Harris County budget chief and director – a role he transformed over three decades before retiring in 2011. Read more about Raycraft’s legacy here.

Elizabeth “Anne” Deason Hoell ’63 of Missoula, Mont., on Dec. 28, 2021. Hoell graduated magna cum laude at BSC before earning her master’s degree in English literature from the University of Alabama. Some of her career roles over the years include teacher, project specialist for the Dictionary of American Regional English at the University of Wisconsin, assistant to the vice president for research at the University of Montana, and staff member for Sen. John Melcher and Congressman Pat Williams. Her focus was appropriations for education, science, and the National Endowment for the Arts. During her retirement, Hoell served the causes and charities most important to her as a board member and volunteer for the String Orchestra of the Rockies, the Missoula Symphony Orchestra, and the Food Bank. She was a devoted Episcopalian and member of Holy Spirit Episcopal Church in Missoula.

Rose Mattilene Amberson Lawrence ’67 of Birmingham on Jan. 7, 2022. After deferring college to start her family, she enrolled at BSC and completed her degree in 1967. As a student, she became involved in the struggle for civil rights, making her home a meeting place for locals and visitors from around the country and the world – New York, Germany, Holland, Africa – who came to Birmingham to support and document the Civil Rights Movement. She taught at Rosedale School, which served African-American students from around the country, and owned Madelyn’s East Antiques on Cobb Lane before relocating to Washington, D.C. Lawrence served as office manager at law firm Charles Morgan, Jr., and Associates for 12 years and retired and returned to Birmingham in 1989. A life master in bridge and a guild member of the National Society of Tole and Decorative Painters, she was a member of the Episcopal Church. Lawrence’s grandson John Lawrence is a current BSC student, and her son Jamie Lawrence is a former BSC staff member. Read more about Lawrence’s legacy here.

Denise Bazar Grayson ’69 of Huntsville, Ala., on Jan. 6, 2022. With her degree from BSC and a master’s degree from Florida Institute of Technology, Grayson was a fearless leader during a time when very few women were in the business field. She leveraged her creativity and tenacity to build a notable career as a marketing executive, receiving professional awards like Practitioner of the Year from the Public Relations Council of Alabama and the Young Career Woman Award from the Metropolitan of Huntsville Business and Professional Women’s Club. She served as president of the Southern Public Relations Federation, the Public Relations Council of Alabama, and the Rotary Club of Greater Huntsville, where she was the first woman to hold the position. Grayson also served on the boards of Girls Inc., Burritt on the Mountain, and the Girl Scouts, and she was a dedicated member of Valley United Methodist Church, where she chaired pastor and parish relations. Her daughter, Allison Grayson ’02, is also a BSC graduate.

Leslie T. Jackson ’70 of Troy, Ala., on Jan. 27, 2022. Jackson received his bachelor’s degree from Troy State University and his master’s degree in education from BSC. He was a beloved chemistry and physics teacher at Eufaula High School for 12 years, and he worked at Farley Nuclear Plant as a training supervisor for 30 years. He enjoyed photography, traveling with his grandchildren, and ballroom dancing.

Dr. Stephen F. Dill, former trustee, of Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 10, 2022. Dill received his bachelor’s degree from Emory University, master’s degree from Emory’s Candler School of Theology, and honorary Doctor of Divinity from Huntingdon College. He served as a United Methodist minister for 40 years in the Alabama West Florida Conference, including the last 18 years as senior minister at Dauphin Way United Methodist Church. Before his leadership at Dauphin Way, Dill organized and served at churches all over Alabama and Florida. He served the United Methodist Church through several other roles, including superintendent for the Troy District, president of the Alabama-West Florida Conference Board of Pensions, member of the Board of Ordained Ministry, delegate to the World Methodist Conferences in London and Denver, and trustee for BSC and Huntingdon. Dill was also a member of the Christian-Jewish Dialogue in Mobile and the advisory board of the Christus Theological Institute. After his retirement, he served as director of the J.L. Bedsole Scholars Program for 18 years and continued to be an active leader in the community. Among the many organizations he served, Dill was the campaign chair for the 1997 United Way of Southwest Alabama Campaign and president of Mobile United and the Rotary Club of Mobile. His granddaughter, Ani Missirian-Wilson ’11, is a BSC graduate.