When asked what advice she would give her younger self as a first-year at the University of Lynchburg, Bethann Whitman ’03 said, “Trust that you are meant to be there. Even when things look bleak … you will look back and know those experiences are how you got where you are today.”
Where she is today, a senior risk management professional with Humana, is a far cry from the career she expected. Still, in Whitman’s words, “A little effort to get out of your comfort zone can open up the world to you, if you are brave enough to go looking.”
Whitman said that Lynchburg helped her along her journey of self-discovery. The opportunity to ignite her passion and drive, to try new clubs and organizations, decide what did and didn’t work for her, and which activities aligned with her values.
“Lynchburg opened me up to find who I was,” she said. “It taught me how determined I can be when I really want something.”
It also helped her discover a sense of community and belonging, starting with the close bond developed by her first-year class.
“We were all freshmen away from home for the first time, and we created our own little family with each other,” she said.
At Lynchburg, Whitman majored in theatre and worked behind the scenes on productions. In her sophomore year, she joined student government, and her circle became even larger. Suddenly, she had different family groups to rely on.
“It was no longer Beth and this one group,” she said. “I was able to create a village of so many different and unique people that allowed me to grow and figure out who I was through all the good and bad during that time of my life.”
Bad times would eventually come. In the fall of her junior year, the 9/11 attacks shook the country. Later that month, a fellow student was killed in a car accident. Even in these dark hours, Whitman knew she had a support base from which to draw.
“So many of us were just going through the motions, trying to process what was happening,” Whitman said. “If it wasn’t for several faculty and staff, none of us would have made it through.
“Dean of Students John Eccles and President [Kenneth] Garren went door to door on 9/11, asking how everyone was and if anyone needed anything or needed to talk. [Associate Chaplain] Anne Gibbons stopped by and gave us hugs. …
“The continual investment from the faculty and staff into who I was as a person and the kind of adult I wanted to be had such a profound impact on who I am.”
The morning of Whitman’s graduation remains fresh in her memory. Before the ceremony, she and a group of friends gathered in their on-campus house to celebrate.
“That moment is such a vivid image in my mind,” she said, “as it encompassed the greatest four years I could have ever dreamed.”
Surrounding her were friends who, over four years, had become family. Together, they had faced national and personal tragedies, grown in more ways than they could have imagined, and created memories that would last a lifetime.
After graduation, everything became a blur of activity. First came the mad dash for pictures, then returning to her dorm room and trying to pack while friends filtered in and out through all hours of the night, delaying the inevitable as long as they could.
As she drove away the following day, she watched a friend wave goodbye to her. At that moment, she felt bittersweet, knowing life would never be quite the same.
Whitman said that level of community and friendship would not have been possible outside of a small, intimate setting such as Lynchburg’s.
“I could not imagine going to a bigger school, as that would never have happened,” she said.
While her job with Humana is different from the career in theatre she envisioned for herself, she acknowledges that many of her professional skills stem from her education, including meeting deadlines and using available resources to solve problems.
“I learned how to deal with pressure, how to think outside of the box, how to organize, to anticipate all possibilities, and how to remain calm when it’s time to buckle down and get the job done,” she said.
“Aside from all that … I learned how a bunch of seeming strangers can be family, and how we all want to work together to serve others. … Lynchburg gave me the opportunity to fail when I just didn’t know better. … Learning from it and growing is really what it’s about.”
