Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee senior to publish article in "Business Horizons": http://myw.lu/1DLtoPk. 

Al Organ '15, an accounting and business administration major and philosophy minor, will publish an article in the journal "Business Horizons" this summer. Organ worked with Raquel Alexander, associate professor of accounting and newly appointed associate dean of the Williams School, on an independent study that looked at tax incentives for businesses. The pair used Tesla Motors' recent deal in Nevada as a case study.

To lure new companies, states put together generous incentive packages that include substantial tax breaks. The assumption is that the jobs the company creates and the money the company invests in infrastructure will outweigh what the state forfeits in tax revenue. Tesla's deal with Nevada was an incentive package worth about $1.3 billion. Forecasters predicted that Tesla would create 6,500 new jobs and increase Nevada's economic output by $100 billion over the next 20 years.

After researching the emergence and growth of tax incentive packages such as Tesla's, Organ and Alexander found that state governments rarely review their tax incentive programs to confirm that the deals are actually stimulating economic growth for their states. In fact, only a few states have laws that require regular reviews of the deals they make with businesses.

"Working on this independent study was a great experience for me because it opened me up to the other side of academia. I have learned a lot from my coursework at W&L, but it was a great experience to research things outside of the classroom that still applied to my field of study," Organ said.

In the article, Organ and Alexander give advice to business leaders who want to maximize incentive deals. They urge them to be realistic about the economic stimulus they can confidently promise states.

"One of the great things about teaching at W&L is the ability to mentor undergraduate research," said Alexander. "Al is an excellent researcher and I was pleased that his efforts led to a publication in a leading business academic journal."

Special Collections: The Largest Collection of Graphic Depictions of Lee's Surrender at Appomattox. 

A Walk in Nepal Helped John Christopher '09 Find His Passion:http://myw.lu/1acelm1.

John Christopher '09 was working for an NGO in Surkhet, Nepal, with plans to return to the United States, get an MBA and continue with his career in financial consulting.

Walking a young Nepalese girl home from school one day changed everything.

"It was a turning point for me," he said. As he and little Sunita neared her residence, he realized that "home" for her was a family of six living in a structure smaller than a minivan.

Christopher also realized during his 16-month fellowship that most international aid in Nepal was centered in the larger cities. Rural communities got little to no attention, but the need for medical and educational assistance was great.

"Rural areas are challenging because they are in mountainous areas and were hit hard during the country's civil war," said Christopher. Because of poor infrastructure and ongoing political turmoil, government assistance is scarce.

"I felt an immediate, emotional connection" to the people in Nepal. He said his realization of their needs was like "peeling back an onion." As more layers were exposed, more needs became apparent.

Christopher responded by creating The Oda Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in the village of Oda, in the rural Kalikot district of Nepal. The foundation is dedicated to improving the health and education of people in the district.

The foundation opened a health clinic in December 2013, and two months later began a partnership with the local school system. The clinic's staff of seven Nepalis, bolstered by a flow of western medical professionals, has treated more than 7,000 people. Christopher views the clinic as a prototype for increased coordination with the Nepali government and an increased network of reliable, well-equipped and professionally managed health facilities in the country's other rural districts.

"The foundation has also augmented current government school programs and incentivized increased teacher aptitude while working with more than 500 children in the process," said Christopher.

The clinic's top priority is "prevention of avoidable death," he said. Through early intervention and treatment of such things as burns, typhoid, diarrhea and pneumonia, the clinic has seen the rate of avoidable death plummet. It is too soon in the clinic's history to have reliable, long-term statistics, but Christopher said, "We have been really successful in a short period of time."

Christopher spends eight months a year in Nepal and four months back in the United States, where he focuses on outreach and fundraising for the foundation. He continues as a contract worker for two financial services companies, including the one he worked for before going to Nepal, in order to support himself, so that all money donated to the foundation can go directly to help the people of Nepal.

There are several W&L connections on the Oda Foundation's board of directors, including two graduates, a professor, a parent of three students and a Law School graduate. A 30-member advisory board has about 50 percent young W&L graduates.

A native of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Christopher followed his sister, Mary Christopher '06, to W&L. He was looking for a college that had excellent academics and an athletic program that would allow him to continue wrestling. He knew immediately that he fit well at the University. "W&L is an amazing place," he said.

It was a class at W&L—Business, Government and Society—that started Christopher thinking about serving people through social entrepreneurship. Taught by Sandy Reiter, associate professor of business administration and Oda board member, it was where he first discussed "the role and responsibility we have as individuals" toward our fellow human beings, he said.

That contributed to his decision several years later to pursue the fellowship to Nepal. He had no idea that he would not come back to his former life, but he also realized that he applied for the fellowship because he hadn't really found his passion. "I had been looking at college as a gateway to a higher income," he said.

When he met the people of Nepal, he realized that because of his education, "I had the toolkit for making meaningful change in their lives." His business education also has helped him with budgeting and with speaking to sophisticated donors.

Now, Christopher lives in two worlds, with two homes. In the U.S., he handles foundation business while earning a living by consulting. In Nepal, he manages the Oda Foundation's health and education services. He hopes the foundation will one day have the resources to hire more staff, but for the time being, he is both visionary and administrator.

In both countries, "I am working on building relationships and raising awareness" to continue the foundation's work, he said.

And he hasn't forgotten the little girl who turned his life around. He continues to support Sunita with a monthly check to the NGO that first brought him to Nepal.

Joshua Jackson '16 on embracing and celebrating his college experience: http://myw.lu/1DlkFFk.

Change. It is something we don't always enjoy, but we all inevitably face it at some point in our lives. Moving from the entertainment capital of the world to the quiet, quaint town of Lexington was going to be quite the change for me. I remember arriving at the airport, suitcase in tow, and unsure of why I decided to travel 2,200 miles away. I made my way through security and arrived at my gate, only to find that my seat had changed. Instead of having a window seat and the entire row to myself, I now had an aisle seat and was sharing the row with two small children. Great start on my journey to Lexington, right? I remember looking out of the window from my aisle seat, wondering what I would encounter once I touched down in Virginia. After all, I was trading bright lights and palm trees for historic, brick buildings and below-freezing temperatures. Everything was very different from what I had previously known, and it took a lot of adjusting before I accepted that I would be in Lexington for the next four years.

Fast forward three years, and I am now looking back, writing on my wonderful time here at W&L. Being able to major in the Williams School while taking a class in the science of crime scene investigations is a testament to W&L's diverse liberal arts education. Co-curricular programs like Washington and Lee Student Consulting, the Kemper Scholar program, the Shepherd Program, and many other organizations have opened doors to extremely rewarding opportunities — opportunities that have allowed me to travel, help companies expand their market share, and even do Sunday morning yoga with 200 people in Millennium Park. I've had the pleasure of establishing meaningful relationships with extremely accomplished friends, world-renowned professors, and knowledgeable mentors. All of this has contributed to an unforgettable college experience that I wouldn't have acquired elsewhere.

Jonathan Wortham '04, medical officer for the CDC, provides Ebola response assistance: http://myw.lu/1AXHO8X.

In January, Dr. Jonathan Wortham '04 spent four weeks in Sierra Leone, one of several West African countries hit hard by the largest Ebola epidemic ever recorded. As a medical officer with the Outbreak Investigators Team at the Centers for Disease Control, in Atlanta, he provided epidemiologic assistance and support to the Ministry of Health and other international partners involved in the Ebola response.

One of his primary tasks was to improve Ebola surveillance--not just counting the number of cases but also collecting information helpful for determining the geographic distribution of cases and their demographic characteristics. "These data are essential for outbreak-response planning and targeting of resources," he explained.

Jonathan, who completed his medical training and pediatrics residency at Baylor College of Medicine, joined the CDC in 2011 as an epidemic intelligence service (EIS) officer. He led several investigations into outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease and published scientific papers documenting racial disparities in invasive pneumococcal disease (a serious bacterial infection common in young children and older adults) and recent antibiotic prescribing patterns for community-acquired pneumonia. He also designed a smartphone app to help clinicians improve implementation of preventive measures for Group B Streptococcus, the leading infectious cause of death for newborn infants less than 30 days old.

"While at W&L, I imagined that I would be a primary care physician," he said. "That was my plan for a long time." With that in mind, he took classes in two of the University's signature programs, the Shepherd Program for Interdisciplinary Study of Poverty and Human Capability and the Washington Term Program, which introduced him to the complex intersection of health care, poverty and public policy. He spent his poverty internship at the Atlanta Mission, where he was "exposed to the poverty-related issues of mental health, drug abuse and homelessness." His Washington term placed him in the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's health office, where "I got a real, practical education in public policy. All careers are affected by policies made within the workplace or at local, state or national levels. Understanding how these decisions are made and how to successfully advocate is really important."

The turning point in his mindset occurred during medical school while doing service work in Guatemala. "Even though I enjoy taking care of individuals, it really struck me how much of an impact public health activities have on whole communities and how these activities complement patient care at an individual level," he explained. "This prompted my interest in EIS, an applied public health fellowship at the CDC, where I began examining health problems from the population level. During medical school, I was taught how to assess and work to improve the health of one individual. During EIS, I was taught how to assess and work to improve the health of whole populations. After my fellowship, I stayed at CDC because I was offered a fantastic job that allows me to do important work to improve lives."

Although Jonathan works full-time for the CDC, he hasn't left patient care altogether. He holds a volunteer faculty position at Emory Medical School, in Atlanta, where one day a week he can be found at the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta's pediatric emergency department. Most days, however, "my work has to do with consulting with state and local health departments regarding tuberculosis (TB) control in the U.S. Occasionally, that can take the form of traveling to investigate outbreaks alongside state and local health partners."

Because of his experience with TB, Jonathan was originally scheduled to travel to Kenya to work on managing the disease overseas. But that trip was put on hold, and he landed in Sierra Leone's Kono District, a diamond-rich region located in the eastern part of the country, training new surveillance officers, analyzing surveillance data and teaching hospital staff about infection control and prevention procedures."

The dedication of professionals from many different disciplines, including physicians, public health officials, police officers and military personnel was impressive," he noted. "Many had not taken even a single day off from work in the previous nine months. I will never forget a brief discussion with an obstetrician at a local hospital, who has since become a friend. Despite the tremendous risk involved with caring for pregnant women with Ebola, as they are often very contagious, he told me, ‘Saving people and making their lives better is what I trained for and what I want to do. I will work my hardest as long as I am able.' He articulated ideals for those working in public health and medicine and, through tremendous personal sacrifice, is exemplifying them on a daily basis. He was and is an inspiration to me."

Although the number of Ebola cases leveled off at one point, there has been a recent spike in new infections. "This Ebola epidemic is the largest in history," said Jonathan. "Unfortunately, I think we can expect to see a few rounds of setbacks before we get to the goal of zero new infections. Ending it will require working shoulder-to-shoulder with people like my obstetrician friend to stop transmission at its source.

Special Collections: A Ledger from Mount Vernon, Kept by George Washington

Jinae Kennedy '16 on the one word that can sum up her last three years..."grateful": http://myw.lu/1EMutpY.

My involvement as a Bonner Scholar--a service learning and leadership development program within the Shepherd Poverty Department--has been the most defining feature of my W&L experience. Over four years, Bonner scholars commit to 1800 service hours, applying their education in partnership with community agencies to create lasting change.

Freshman year, I worked with an afterschool program to design and launch a College Prep Week and a Health-Hunger-Service Week at the middle school. Upperclassmen student leaders mentored me through these projects, offering guidance and encouraging me to take ownership.

Designing the programs was a collaborative effort, and I facilitated communication between middle school students, W&L and VMI volunteers, school staff, and over 30 local employers. I learned to lead meetings and to call decisions.

That experience at the beginning of my W&L career was so valuable. I realized that I love using communication skills to build happy and successful teams to design powerful projects.

But more important was the opportunity to meet so many extraordinary people in my community. Rockbridge County is an incredible place that has become my home. I never enter the grocery store without seeing familiar faces and stopping to chat with a friend I met at a service site, church, the farmer's market, or the coffee shop.

For the last two years, I have served as the volunteer coordinator intern at the local high school, managing three separate afterschool programs and facilitating communication between school administration and volunteers. Our programs provide free one-on-one SAT/ACT prep, college application coaching, and group tutoring, fostering lasting relationships between students and volunteers.

The issues of education inequality and college access are close to my heart. I came to W&L through Questbridge, a program that links high achieving, low-income students with scholarships to top schools. I found Questbridge at what I felt was the last minute. Applying to college was stressful and confusing, and I had no idea what my options were. Looking back, I wished I had someone to guide me through the process and give me the confidence to shoot high. If I can be that person now for one student--enough said. Every stressful staff meeting, every late night, every long day of tutoring is infinitely worth it.

Directly applying my mass communications major, I also manage communications and social media at Hoofbeats Therapeutic Riding Center (along with assisting riding lessons, mucking stalls, training horses, and planning events).

Last semester I took an Intro to Reporting class. I learned about social media trends, interviewing, and the power of communication. Every week, I directly applied my classwork to my service work. Within that semester, Hoofbeats' web traffic doubled. My goal is to connect Hoofbeats with the non-profit network and to create a coherent brand image, opening opportunities for more public funding.

Writing weekly features for the blog, I get to interview incredible riders and volunteers and tell their stories. There is power and healing in story telling--listening to somebody for hours, asking questions, finding a common thread, and then carrying their voice to a wider audience. Deep down, everybody wants his or her story to be told.