The annual Alumni Awards and Westover Society Dinner was held on Saturday, April 18, in Hall Campus Center’s Memorial Ballroom.
During the ceremony, the Rev. Dr. Oneal Sandidge ’78 received the T. Gibson Hobbs Memorial Award, named for a member of the Class of 1904 who was a devoted trustee and board president. Lynchburg’s highest alumni honor, it has been given since 1948 and recognizes alums who provide exceptional service to church, community, and alma mater.
Over the last half-century, Sandidge has taught at levels from elementary and middle school to college, promoted and managed gospel singing groups, served as a pastor and mental health counselor, and written several books.
He earned bachelor’s degrees in elementary education and religion from Lynchburg College. He also has a PhD in education, a Doctor of Ministry, and master’s degrees from Howard and Columbia universities.
After accepting the award, Sandidge talked about his work in the Christian and non-Christian communities and his service to Harvard College’s admissions department, where he is a volunteer admissions interviewer.
Over the decades, he said, he had provided “the best for churches, counseling skills to many, training many pastors, educators, and more than 5,000 learners at all levels.”
In closing, Sandidge paraphrased President Barack Obama saying, “Keep exploring, keep dreaming, keep asking why. Don’t settle for less. Don’t settle for what you already know. Never stop believing in your ideas, your imagination, your hard work. You’re the change in this world.”
The Kenneth R. Garren Alumni Award was presented to Jenna Frazer ’25, ’26 MEd. Named for Lynchburg’s president from 2001-20, it recognizes a graduate student who excels academically, mentors peers, participates in conferences, and helps promote the graduate program to prospective students in their field.
Frazer is a home service teacher for Lynchburg City Schools. She also is a graduate assistant in the University’s Office of Belonging while she pursues a Master of Education in interdisciplinary studies with a gifted education endorsement.
She has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, with a special education endorsement, from Lynchburg, where she was a 2025 Teacher of Promise and a member of Lynchburg’s equestrian team.
“As a graduate student and in my role as a graduate assistant in the Office of Belonging, I’ve had the opportunity to teach, mentor, and support students in a way that shaped me just as much as I hope to support them,” she said. “The most meaningful part of this work has been building relationships and helping create spaces where students feel seen and truly belong.
“I’ve also been incredibly fortunate to learn from mentors, colleagues, and peers who have challenged me to grow and lead with intention. This recognition reflects their impact on me, just as much as anything I’ve ever accomplished.”
Jacob Clavijo ’26 received the John G. Eccles Student Leadership Award. Established in 2016 by the Lynchburg Alumni Association Board, it honors former Dean of Students John Eccles for his service to Lynchburg from 1998 to 2016. It’s given to a student leader who emulates Eccles’s personal integrity, sense of humor, and passion for leadership.
Clavijo held a full-time job while completing his communication studies degree and serving as editor-in-chief of The Critograph. He was praised by comm studies faculty for his fearlessness and “unwavering integrity” and for how he “elevated” the newspaper to “new levels of impact, ensuring that it reflects the diverse voices of the student body and … engages thoughtfully with the pressing issues of our time.”
This fall, he will pursue a master’s degree at Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.
After accepting the award, Clavijo admitted that he’d never heard of Eccles, but that he did research and spoke to people who knew him.
“What they spoke on, time and time again was his character,” Clavijo said. “They spoke on how he was a caring individual. He respected everybody, and cared for his community here at Lynchburg. In the 30 years that he served, he pushed students to take risks and to maximize their potential, and so I’m honored to be given this award that’s named in his honor.
“Far more than me being recognized for my academic achievements or even my professional achievements, as a journalist, when all is said and done, I really want to be recognized for the content of my character.
“I want people to know that I carried myself with integrity, I respected others. I didn’t shy away from taking risks, and that I led my life with love and through love.
“I think those traits are especially important in a world that so often encourages and even rewards traits that are the exact opposite, and so I’m very thankful to the community here at Lynchburg, to President Alison, to Dr. [Ghislaine] Lewis and the entire comms department, who set me up for success, to go out into this world and to continue to take risks and to really make a difference and to maximize my potential.”
He encouraged those in attendance to “not be afraid to take risks,” adding that his grandparents took a risk, moving to the U.S. 50 years ago, and he took a risk, moving to Lynchburg.
“Lastly,” he said, “just remember to continue to lead your life with love and through love, and I promise you won’t fail.”
Distinguished Alumni Awards were presented to Dr. Tanmay Acharia ’24 DMSc, Tom Cassidy ’73, Shawn Lipscomb ’90, ’13 MEd, ’25 MEd, Dr. Kristy Somerville-Midgette ’00, ’05 MEd, and Dr. Derrick Thompson ’08.
The award honors alumni for exceptional contributions to professional, academic, or service fields, including dedication to their alma mater.
Acharia, an India-based physician associate and graduate of Lynchburg’s Doctor of Medical Science program, has more than 12 years of experience in adult and pediatric cardiothoracic surgery and transplantation.
Among other accomplishments, he also patented a method and system for early detection of the COVID-19 virus and worked on a project that involved a wearable device designed to protect healthcare professionals from COVID-19.
He also is the newest member of Lynchburg’s alumni association board.
Tanmay could not attend the ceremony, but in a statement said he was “deeply grateful” and “incredibly proud” to receive the award, and that it was “especially meaningful … to be the first Indian to receive the prestigious award.”
He said the “education, mentorship, and values I gained here have been instrumental in propelling my career forward. More importantly, the institution helped shape my perspective, instilling in me the confidence, resilience, and the sense of purpose required to grow into a leader in my field.”
Cassidy worked in the University’s alumni office for more than three decades. He served as director of alumni relations, director of donor relations, and director of special projects. He organized on-campus events — Westover, Homecoming, and Parents and Family weekends, etc. — as well as off-campus events in dozens of states.
In his retirement, he helped proof an alumni oral history project.
“In the spring of 1969, my mother and I visited several campuses, including LC,” he said. “Unfortunately, our timing wasn’t great. We arrived during spring break, and the campus was empty. Even though the campus was quiet, I remember thinking it looked exactly like a small college should look. It felt welcoming. It felt personal. It felt right.
“What I could not have imagined in 1973 was that I would spend 31 years working at Lynchburg College. Over those years, I had the privilege of serving for many years as alumni director, where I met many of our alumni here tonight.
“I had the joy of reconnecting graduates to this special place, watching them return to campus, hear their stories, and recover and rediscover the same sense of belonging I felt decades earlier.
“In many ways, my work allowed me to help others maintain the lifelong connection that began for me on that quiet spring visit.”
Lipscomb is a teacher with more than 16 years of experience in K-5 education in the Lynchburg City Schools. She has been a literacy teacher since 2023, and before that she was a visual arts teacher and team leader. She has also worked in the marketing and parks and recreation fields.
Lipscomb has a bachelor’s degree in visual communications and Master of Education degrees in Reading and Curriculum and Instruction — all from Lynchburg — along with an associate degree from Central Virginia Community College.
“As a young student who was diagnosed with dyslexia, auditory discrepancy challenges, and an incomprehensible speech impediment, I never imagined that I would attend college, much less be standing here, having experienced a world of opportunities and adventures in my personal and professional life, which included earning four college degrees,” she said.
In addition to her parents, who told her “You will go to college,” Lipscomb credits several individuals with helping to shape her life’s journey. One was her third-grade teacher, Mary Hurtt.
“[She] helped determine why I was a struggling reader [and] was also the teacher who taught me, as well as every other student who had the privilege to be in her classroom, about kindness, acceptance and perseverance, lighting the spark of community awareness and self-determination that I still carry with me today and attempt to pass on to my students as impactfully as she did,” Lipscomb said.
Lipscomb said Hurtt and Richard Pumphrey ’74, professor emeritus of art at Lynchburg, “gave me the courage to pursue my passion to become an art teacher.” More recently, Dr. Stefanie Copp, of Lynchburg’s education faculty, “not only solidified my understanding of literacy, but strengthened my desire to share this understanding with my students.”
“She helped me finesse my teaching style and embrace my early literacy challenges as a benefit to help support my students to navigate their own challenges.”
Somerville-Midgette has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Lynchburg College and a Doctor of Education from Liberty University. She has been the Lynchburg City Schools superintendent since July 2025.
Prior to that, she was superintendent of Brunswick County Public and held various teaching and administrative roles in public schools across Virginia.
As Brunswick superintendent, she was recognized by Virginia’s governor for achieving the “highest rate of growth for students” in grades three through eight for the 2023-24 academic year.
“Each step has shaped my perspective,” Somerville-Midgette said of her career, which has included roles in special education and administration. “And it strengthened my commitment to students, staff, and communities.
“One of the big things that I focus on with students is what I gained here, having opportunities and access. … I wasn’t destined for college. Initially, that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I had no idea what I wanted to do necessarily, but I thought it would be a career in the military, or I thought I would be doing something with mechanics. …
“My mother decided, ‘You’re going to apply to Lynchburg College. It’s close to home. This is what you should do.’ And it was truly one of the best decisions of my life.
“I’m just really appreciative about the education I received here, the love and support, and it really made all of this possible. This recognition reflects not just my journey but the people who have supported and worked alongside me, beginning right here at Lynchburg College.”
Thompson, director of choral studies and assistant professor of music at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, earned a bachelor’s degree in vocal music education from Lynchburg College. He also has master’s degrees from Morgan State, Columbia, and Messiah universities, and a Doctor of Education from Columbia’s Teachers College.
Since graduating from Lynchburg, he has taught music at numerous colleges and universities, including Lynchburg, Columbia’s Teachers College, Delaware State, Albright, and Messiah. He has been a choral director and music teacher in Virginia’s public schools, and he has served as musical director at numerous churches in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
From 2010-11, he also was artistic director of the Mulan Children’s Choir in Tianjin, China.
“Standing here tonight feels like coming full circle,” Thompson said. “When I first stepped onto this campus as an undergraduate, I had no idea how the Lynchburg music program would shape the course of my life. The lessons I learned in Snidow Chapel just didn’t make me a better musician, they made me the educator, leader, and human being I am today.”
Thompson talked about the opportunities he’s had since graduating from Lynchburg — opportunities he could have never imagined as a student. “I’ve conducted choirs on stages across the East Coast and beyond, including the profound honor of conducting at Carnegie Hall during the United Nations’ annual gala,” he said.
“I’ve led ensembles internationally in China, … witnessing firsthand how music transcends language and culture. My work as a scholar has been just as fulfilling. I’ve published research and articles in respected state and regional journals, writing on vocal pedagogy, healthy singing, the choral sound, and the voice of Black composers. …
“Through teaching, conducting, scholarship, and service, I strive to contribute to a field that has given me so much to me.”
He also talked about the importance of the arts, saying, “… I would be remiss if I didn’t say that none of this would be possible without continued support for the arts. The arts are not an extra; they are essential.
“They give students a voice where words fall short. They create community where there is division. They teach discipline, empathy, creativity, and humanity in ways that … other disciplines cannot.
“And I have seen firsthand how the arts can change lives. Not just for myself, but for my students in the community around the world. And yet every accomplishment, every concert, every classroom, every publication will trace itself back to here at Lynchburg. Lynchburg gave me the foundation, the training, the resilience, and the encouragement that launched my career. For that, I will always be grateful.”
The M. Carey Brewer Alumni Award was presented to Dr. Jennifer Jewell ’10. Named for Lynchburg’s seventh president, it recognizes young alumni who have made outstanding contributions to society, and in doing so have brought honor and distinction to themselves and the University.
Jewell, a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, is deputy director of research services for the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego. She is also a youth softball coach, a Girls on the Run coach, and a Girls Inc. volunteer.
At Lynchburg College, she was a double major in psychology and criminology, with a minor in Spanish. She also was a Westover Honors Fellow. Jewell went on to earn master’s degrees from the University of Kentucky and United States Naval War College and a PhD in developmental and social psychology from the University of Kentucky.
“I’m confident I would not be the person, the scientist, or naval officer I am today without the people who make this University so special,” Jewell said.
She specifically recognized Dr. Alisha Marciano and Dr. Virginia Cylke, psychology faculty, “for investing so much in me, and in my learning,” and former Westover Honors faculty Dr. Ed DeClair and Dr. Kate Gray for “creating so many incredible opportunities for myself and my fellow Westover Honors students.
“Their mentorship taught me not just how to think critically but how to be a lifelong learner and how to live with integrity.”
The “most profound impact” for Jewell, however, was more personal than professional. “It was here that I met my wife, Mandy [Watts ’10], so Lynchburg gave me my family and, by extension, our children,” she said. “To them, thank you for always supporting me through long days, wacky hours, and cross-country moves.
“Thank you, of course, to my parents, for trusting me to move across the country … at the age of 18 and for always believing in me, and to my first friend on campus, my roommate, Amanda. Thank you for being here tonight to celebrate and for all the years of friendship in between.
“This award is a testament to the community Lynchburg builds. I’m forever indebted and I thank you … for this honor.”
Honorary Alumni Awards were presented to University employees Dr. Robert Canida II and Sarah Rhodes. Established in 1986, these awards recognize non-alumni for exceptional interest, dedication, and/or service to Lynchburg.
Canida, Lynchburg’s chief inclusive excellence officer, led efforts that resulted in the University receiving the national Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award from Insight Into Diversity magazine.
As Lynchburg’s primary JEDI — Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion — spokesperson, Canida speaks at new faculty and student orientations and provides the University president with statements pertaining to social justice and diversity.
He was instrumental in revising Lynchburg’s anti-discrimination policy and drafting its pronoun, gender, and name policy. He manages the Equity Advocates program, which ensures job search committees operate equitably and fairly, and he created the University’s “Courageous Conversations” series.
During Canida’s six-and-a-half-year tenure at Lynchburg, the University has received approximately $200,000 in grants from the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund, the Council of Independent Colleges of Virginia, and Interfaith America to advance initiatives of the Office of Inclusive Excellence.
“This award makes me think of Sullivan Pugh’s inspiring gospel song, ‘May the Work I’ve Done Speak for Me,’ however, let me slightly change that to say, ‘May the Work that We’ve done speak for us,’ and I also reflect on the powerful Southern African concept, ubuntu, which beautifully crafted the idea ‘I am because we are.’”
Rhodes is the director of donor relations and endowment administration in the Office of Advancement. For the last five years, she has also been program director of the University’s popular LIFE@Lynchburg program.
She has been described as a “trusted mentor, a collaborative colleague, and a tireless advocate for the University’s mission” and praised for how she “exemplifies the spirit of the University … through her unwavering dedication, exceptional service, and transformative leadership.”
As one colleague puts it, “Sarah does everything efficiently, without complaint and with genuine passion for the University” and “I think the best ‘thank you’ the school could ever give her would be to make her an honorary alum.”
Sarah called receiving the award “a great honor,” adding, “I love this place so much. I love the work that I do, and I really love the people that I work with.”
Rhodes’ family has a long history at Lynchburg. “My grandfather, Carlyle, was I think the first member of our family to attend Lynchburg College, a member of the Class of 1942, and my niece, Ella, who is here tonight is about to finish her freshman year as the 21st member of our family to attend Lynchburg.
“So, I’m very proud to be number 22.”
