Going Beyond Academics

Going Beyond Academics

For Harris Middle School (HMS) librarian Megan Lawell, extending kindness to others is more than an incentive to focus on one week out of the year. For her, it’s a way of life worth teaching to others. “Kindness Week is a nationally recognized week that we wanted to...
Homegrown Hero Jeri Clements Wears Scrubs

Homegrown Hero Jeri Clements Wears Scrubs

NO MATTER WHAT time of day it is, the emergency room at Vanderbilt Bedford Hospital is constantly abuzz with activity. Since the acquisition of the hospital by Vanderbilt in 2021, the daily census reveals that the number of people seeking help at the facility has...
Jared Carkuff: There’s No Place Like Home

Jared Carkuff: There’s No Place Like Home

IN THE 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz,” a tornado whisked Dorothy from the hayfields of Kansas to a colorful, whimsical land where she faced many challenges and gathered new friends along her journey. Finally, she clicked the heels of her ruby red slippers together and...
Ron Eldridge: Maps, Mentorship, and Melodies

Ron Eldridge: Maps, Mentorship, and Melodies

HIS LONG, narrow fingers danced across the strings, no longer obsessed with the movements of the bow in his hand. Instead, the world around him disappeared into the melody, the fiddle’s mellow yet vibrant tones coloring his early life in Ashland, Kentucky.  As a...
Mike Ruess: Serving Those Who Served

Mike Ruess: Serving Those Who Served

AS THE rain lashed against the window of his car, the steady rhythm mirrored the drumbeat of the Vietnam veteran’s anxiety. He stuffed the manila folder inside his field jacket and made his way as quickly as his diminishing gait would allow toward the basement of the...