Among the selected students are rising juniors Ashley Baker and Fumin Li, who just completed Pannell Scholarships, as well as Dolores Gallagher, Moriah Donaldson and Amy Kvien; rising seniors Kaitlyn Cartwright, Rebecca Dalley, Anna Donko, Katlyn Fleming and Lilian Tauber; and soon-to-be graduate Jennifer Gray.

“This is a bigger group of students than we have had in a while,” said Julie Hemstreet, who organizes the program. “We also had a bigger and much more competitive pool of applicants than we have had in many years.”

Under the supervision of a faculty member, each student will conduct independent research on a topic of her choice. The eight-week, on-campus program offers participants a exceptional academic experience by providing the opportunity for intensely focused research, a one-on-one working relationship with a faculty mentor, and weekly meetings and presentations by both professors and students highlighting their ongoing research.

For more information about the program, email jhemstreet@sbc.edu.

Projects:

Ashley Baker ’15
Faculty sponsor: Rob Granger (Chemistry)
With an understanding of photosynthesis, Baker will replicate it using organometallic catalysts (molecules that contain both carbon and metal atoms).

Kaitlyn Cartwright ’14
Faculty sponsor: Abraham Yousef (Chemistry)
An important aspect of anticancer research is the development of compounds that possess selectivity to cancer cells and the ability to avoid resistance from cancer cells. Cartwright will synthesize a novel organic compound containing a phenanthroline scaffold that will allow for binding to platinum and a 3(2H)-furanone core. The compound will later be tested against various cancer cells, both with and without platinum. The project will serve as the beginning of her Honors thesis work.

Katlyn Fleming ’14
Faculty sponsor: Abraham Yousef (Chemistry)
Fleming’s research project involves a novel organic compound containing a phenanthroline scaffold designed to bind to platinum. While platinum-containing compounds are known to be effective against cancer cells, not all compounds are equally effective, and some cancer cells can develop resistance to currently known drugs. The target compound will be synthesized this summer and later tested against various cancer cells, both with and without platinum. Fleming will continue her research in her senior Honors thesis.

Rebecca Dalley ’14
Faculty sponsor: Janet Steven (Biology)
Using clonal growth in plants, Dalley will investigate the age of interrupted ferns (Osmunda claytoniana L.). Interrupted fern rhizomes grow at a slow rate of about a quarter inch per year. With the use of DNA markers and measurements taken during sampling, Dalley will determine the approximate age and illuminate the history of the current forest undergrowth.

Moriah Donaldson ’15
Faculty sponsor: Scott Pierce (Engineering)
Donaldson’s project aims to help develop a new treatment for phantom limb pain, a syndrome affecting 80 percent of amputees. She’ll create a realistic, computer-based simulation of hands as they perform grasping and pointing motions. Her two main goals are constructing a complete kinematic model of a hand in motion, and using a solid modeling library to create dimensionally correct models.

Anna Donko ’14
Faculty sponsor: Pamela DeWeese (Modern languages and literatures)
Through her research, Donko aims to demonstrate how Ramón del Valle-Inclán’s theatrical concept of “Esperpento” molded his creation of the fictitious, dictatorial world in his masterpiece, “Tirano Banderas,” a novel depicting the fall of a cruel South American dictator.

Fumin Li ’15
Faculty sponsor: Bethany Brinkman (Engineering)
Using AutoCAD, Li will create a virtual model of Sweet Briar House that people can visit online.

Dolores Gallagher ’15
Faculty sponsor: Bryce Walker (Classics, philosophy and religion)
During her project, Gallagher will study medicine in ancient Greece, particularly its relationship to Greek culture. She will also look at the Hippocratic oath and its influence on doctors at the time and today.

Jennifer Gray ’13
Faculty sponsors: Lynn Laufenberg (History) and Eric Casey (Classics)
Through a comparative historical study, Gray hopes to understand how the perception of women with political power evolved between the 5th century B.C. and the 6th century A.D.

Amy Kvien ’15
Faculty sponsor: Sherry Forbes (Economics)
Kvien’s research project seeks to understand the effect of the recent financial regulations in response to the Great Recession on the structure of the financial services industry.

Lilian Tauber ’14
Faculty sponsor: Lynn Laufenberg (History)
In her research, Tauber will investigate the Arab Spring and its impact on the emergence or expansion of political and human rights in the countries involved. Among other things, she will explore whether U.S. interests in the region have had an impact on this process. Tauber hopes to shed light on it through a comparative, historical investigation into discernible U.S. influence in two case studies (Egypt and Morocco), focusing on the integration of political rights into government institutions in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Professor Horwege welcomes Suri Xia ’15 (left) and Olivia Fagan ’15 as the newest members of Delta Phi Alpha.

On Tuesday, May 7, Sweet Briar College’s Lambda Eta Chapter of the Delta Phi Alpha German Honor Society initiated two new members. The ceremony took place during a dinner at Main Street Eatery in Lynchburg.

The society welcomed sophomores Suri Xia and Olivia Fagan. Professor of German Ronald Horwege conducted the ceremony, which was also attended by John Reynolds, national secretary-treasurer of Delta Phi Alpha, as well as Alyssa Sarminento ’15 and Sixtine Abrial ’15, who were initiated last year, Stacey Karmen ’15, German assistant Carola Haese and Horwege’s wife, Sandra.

Delta Phi Alpha was founded at Wofford College in 1927 and now has more than 236 chapters throughout the United States. Sweet Briar College received its charter in 2001. Professor Horwege is presently serving as national president of the society.

The purpose of the society is stated in its charter: “The National German Honor Society, Delta Phi Alpha, seeks to recognize excellence in the study of German and to provide an incentive for higher scholarship. The Society aims to promote the study of the German language, literature and civilization and endeavors to emphasize those aspects of German life and culture which are of universal value and which contribute to man’s eternal search for peace and truth.”

Alyson Booth ’13 on her horse Dom, who spent three years at Sweet Briar. “I like to think he has earned his undergrad degree also,” says mom Debbie.

“Alyson has gained so much from her time at Sweet Briar, it feels right to give back and make sure that Sweet Briar can continue to provide students competitive programs and resources,” says Bill, who made a career in point-of-sales marketing and retired after working for Coinstar during its startup phase. “[She] has benefited from the generosity of those who came before her, so getting involved and contributing to the Annual Fund is our way of giving back.”

This month, Alyson is graduating with a B.S. in biology and a minor in chemistry. She’s already been accepted to the veterinary program at Ohio State University, where she’ll start in the fall.

Alyson’s journey began during her junior year in high school. As a participant in the College Bound riding program in Gainesville, Fla., she met Sweet Briar riding director Mimi Wroten, who told her everything about the College’s equestrian program. After a campus visit, Alyson was ready to disqualify all other colleges from her wish list.

“Alyson’s passion is horses,” Debbie says, adding that her daughter has been riding since she enrolled her in a spring break riding camp in elementary school.

“When it came time to choose a college, she wanted to attend a school that would provide her the opportunity to continue riding.”

Sweet Briar was the only school Alyson applied to — despite her initial aversion to the idea of attending a women’s college.

“I remember suggesting Sweet Briar to her when she was a sophomore in high school,” says Bill, who had visited the campus when he was a student at Washington & Jefferson College in Pennsylvania.

Natalie (left), Bill, Alyson and Debbie Booth at Alyson’s high school graduation.

“I had a fraternity brother whose girlfriend attended Sweet Briar. They got in a fight and he convinced me to ride with him to visit her over a weekend. … If someone had said to me back then, ‘Someday, you will have a daughter and she will attend Sweet Briar with her horse,’ I would have told them they were crazy.”

While growing up just 30 miles apart in the Pittsburgh area, the Booths didn’t meet until they were both working for the same supermarket vendor, but in different cities. A corporate training program in California brought them together.

Two children and many years later, Debbie continues to work in marketing, now for the personalized digital media company Catalina, where she has been for 19 years. Last summer, Becca Davidson ’13 interned at Catalina and stayed with the Booths while Alyson was away with “Vets in the Wild” in South Africa.

“We had done this once before with a UVa student who was a friend of Aly’s sister Natalie, so we were totally open to doing it again when one of Aly’s friends expressed an interest in exploring a career in human resources,” Debbie says. “Aly suggested she reach out to me. After speaking with her, I encouraged her to send me her resume and I sponsored her candidacy for the Catalina Summer Internship Program. When she was accepted, we invited her to stay with us for the summer.”

Debbie hopes more parents will open their homes — and internship opportunities — to Sweet Briar students.

“Many parents may be able to offer a similar opportunity and just have not thought about it. It’s a rewarding experience for the student and for the host family.”

Alyson, in turn, has benefited from the generosity of many Sweet Briar parents in Virginia, who took her in during holidays when she couldn’t make it home.

To Debbie, “that says a lot about the SBC parent community.”

Through their involvement on the Parent Steering Committee, the Booths have connected with many other Sweet Briar families, and every time, they find a lot in common.

“In all my encounters, the parents have shared similar, positive SBC experiences and consistently place a deep value on the women’s college education and experience,” Debbie says.

Alyson during the “Vets in the Wild” program in South Africa last summer.

Both Bill and Debbie know that Sweet Briar was the right choice for Alyson.

“The family atmosphere, the collaboration and support of the professors and the support of alumnae are all examples of what makes Sweet Briar such a special place,” Debbie explains. “Aly was appropriately challenged and supported by professors [who] believed in her and provided her strong advice and guidance.”

They’re especially grateful for the many opportunities Alyson was offered in preparation for vet school. The summer between her freshman and sophomore years, she interned at a Sweet Briar alumna’s small animal practice in the Lynchburg area, and her pre-vet and senior research advisor, biology professor John Morrissey, encouraged her to participate in the “Vets in the Wild” program. Each opportunity has brought Alyson one step closer to fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian.

For as long as the Booths can remember, “Aly was bound and determined to get into vet school,” Debbie says. “She was accepted at five schools — three abroad and two in the U.S. … We are thrilled and truly blessed.”

But it’s not just about academics. Alyson has grown on a personal level, as well, something Bill is keenly aware of.

“Alyson has flourished. Her self-confidence has grown, she has a deeper understanding of who she is; she is more independent, she speaks up. She’s developed gumption. She has also has taken [the] initiative to try new things, such as participating in cross country. I have seen her become a leader rather than a follower.

“Last but not least, she has developed deep friendships that will last forever.”

Alyson, for her part, is glad she made the choice to attend Sweet Briar. That her parents have been there to support her every step of the way means a lot, she says.

“It was important to me because they got to be a part of my college experience in positive ways, other than just helping me pay for school.”

— Janika Carey

Jacqueline Comola. Photo by Alexis Simmont ’11.

Jacqueline Comola has always loved music, but never took voice or piano lessons until she came to Sweet Briar. Four years later, the music and religion major is giving her senior recital. Free and open to the public, the event will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, May 6, in Memorial Chapel.

In addition to playing two songs on the piano, Comola will sing pieces by Mozart, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Jacopo Peri and others, accompanied by Sweet Briar piano instructor Anna Billias.

Growing up, Comola discovered her passion for singing in choirs and musical theater. In elementary school, she “fell in love” with the piano and began playing it on her own, all the way through high school.

“In college I made a commitment to regular lessons and continue taking lessons now,” she says.

The only instrument she learned to play with the help of a teacher is the guitar, in eighth grade. Today, Comola’s busy schedule doesn’t leave room for guitar lessons, but she continues to practice regularly. And for the music natural, there’s always time to squeeze in another instrument.

“I recently became the proud owner of a banjo, too, and am currently learning how to play!”

In between voice, piano, guitar and banjo, the Austin native still finds time to get involved on campus. A member of Briar Patch, Comola is also the secretary of BAM and works at the music library and as a recruiting assistant in the admissions office.

For more information about the concert, contact Marcia Thom at (434) 381-6221 or mthom@sbc.edu.

— Janika Carey

Jeff Jones drums with Skiffle Steel at the 2013 Panorama competition in Trinidad.

Jones received the award in support of his research project “Music Education and Community Development in Southern Trinidad.” In collaboration with the Trinidadian pan orchestra Skiffle Steel, Jones, a percussionist himself, has been analyzing the value of pan music to the country’s cultural and social environment since 2006.

“Many people involved with steel orchestras in Trinidad find that, in articulating and celebrating cultural history, pan has value as a public good — nurturing social cohesion, teaching discipline and work ethic, helping people develop confidence and self-esteem, keeping urban centers a site for vibrant community interaction, and the like,” he wrote in his grant proposal.

Earlier this year, Jones, who also directs Sweet Briar’s Chamber Orchestra, joined Skiffle Steel in the 2013 Panorama competition. His next step will be to conduct field research with the band in southern Trinidad this summer.

“[M]y specific focus will be on piloting a documentation protocol and teacher training program that will allow Skiffle to enhance the music learning process,” he said.

For more information about Jones and his project, click here.

The Maurice L. Mednick Memorial Fellowship was created in honor of a young Norfolk industrialist whose family and business associates wished to perpetuate his name by establishing a memorial that would emphasize his and the donors’ strong interest in higher education. The Mednick Memorial Fund aims to encourage the professional development of college teachers and improve their academic competence through fellowships for research and advanced study. 

Founded in 1952, the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges is a nonprofit fundraising partnership supporting the programs and students of 15 leading independent colleges in the Commonwealth.

The ceremony marked a “new tradition” at Sweet Briar, uniting departmental awards and honors, as well as Student Government Association awards and the Presidential Medal under one umbrella.

Previously, some of the awards had been announced at events that only included members of the senior class or those who were being honored, Parker said.

“But academic achievement is the very heart of our community, the very reason for Sweet Briar to exist. The excellence of our students is a source of pride for the whole community — for all faculty members, all students, and all members of staff.”

Dean Amy Jessen-Marshall began the ceremony by announcing this year’s first-year honors and dean’s list students, asking them to stand and be recognized.

The first academic award recipient to be called to the stage was M.A.T. candidate and former chaplain’s assistant Kristie Munn, who received a one-year membership to the American Association of University Women, presented by Donna Kerley ’10, member of the association’s Lynchburg branch. Rousing applause was followed by a list of departmental awards, with each one of them handed out by the department’s chair.

Professor of economics and environmental studies Rob Alexander presents seniors Sarah Lindemann (left) and Kate Macklin with the Juliet Halliburton Davis Award.

After acknowledging Sweet Briar’s outstanding riders — most of whom were away for the American National Riding Commission Championships in Baltimore — Jessen-Marshall went on to announce the juniors and seniors who had been included in this year’s Who’s Who Among American Colleges and Universities.

Senior members of departmental honors societies were named along with those inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa before SGA president Maddie Hodges and Izzy Begej, chair of the Academic Affairs Committee, took the stage to present the SGA Excellence in Service and Excellence in Teaching Awards.

Director of residence life, Annie Jones, received the first award for having “done some really terrific things for our community in such a short period of time,” Hodges said.

“On behalf of the entire student body, we are forever grateful.”

The Excellence in Teaching Award, announced by Begej, went once again to associate professor of classical studies Eric Casey, who was unable to attend the ceremony.

Parker concluded the event with the announcement of this year’s Presidential Medalist — business management major Elizabeth Hansbrough, who, along with her fellow riders, was in Baltimore, but had been informed of the top-secret award beforehand.

“At commencement we will have the opportunity to give her a hearty ‘Holla, holla’ in person,” Parker said.

Before leaving the stage, she reminded students that the real value of awards and prizes “lies in what they symbolize, what they represent, and what they express. They articulate shared standards and values; they give occasion for celebration; they crystallize memories.”

Years from now, the trophies and plaques themselves wouldn’t be remembered nearly as well as the experiences that led to them, she added.

“If today is about anything, it is about moments like those. They are what — I hope — you will remember about Sweet Briar, and it is certainly what Sweet Briar will remember about you.”

The following departmental awards were announced during the ceremony:

• Kathryn Haw Prize in Art History: Ann Burris Roach ’13
• Sprague-Belcher Award in Biology: Julie Alissa Sharp ’13
• James Lewis Howe Award in Chemistry: Katie Jane Bitting ’13
• The Jean Taylor Meyer Memorial American Poets Prize: Ashley Elizabeth Baker ’15
• The Jean Besselievre Boley Prize for best short story: Mary Katherine Patterson ’13
• Economics Department Outstanding Senior Award: Kelly Ann Winer ’13
• Juliet Halliburton Davis Award: Katherine Margaret Macklin ’13 (environmental science) and Sarah Marie Lindemann ’13 (environmental studies)
• The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International Outstanding Scholar Education Award: Emma Malone Neave ’12 (M.A.T.)
• The Tye River Elementary School “Big Sister” Award: Jessica Faye Murphy ’13
• Lawrence G. Nelson Award (English): Caden John Campbell ’13
• Shakespeare Prize: Madelyn Virginia Garnett ’14
• Marcia Capron Award (French): Marianna Victoria deLyon ’13
• L’alliance Française de Lynchburg Award: Hannah Grayson Atwood ’14
• Pauline Roberts Otis Award (Junior Year in France): Nicole Jeamin Lee ’13
• German Embassy Book Prize: Emma Marie Merritt-Cuneo ’14, Sixtine Abrial ’15 and Alyssa B. Sarmiento ’15
• Goethe-Institut Buchpreis: Hannah Rose Robinson ’13
• Anne Gary Pannell Taylor Award in History: Jennifer Marie Gray ’13
• Anne Gary Pannell Taylor Graduate Fellowship in History: Sarah Lee Woll ’13
• Mathematical Sciences Award: Emily Kate Cochran ’13 and Xingjian Yu ’13
• Leigh Woolverton Prize for Excellence in the Visual Arts: Kaitlyn Aki Holloway ’13

— Janika Carey

Weathersby is a professorial lecturer in Korean studies at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. She is also a visiting professor in the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Sungshin Women’s University in Seoul, Korea. She teaches courses on South/North Korean relations in historical context, the history of post-World War II international relations and North Korean history and politics. Following the collapse of communist rule in the Soviet Union, Weathersby pioneered research in Russian archives on the creation of the North Korean state and the Korean War, and has published and lectured widely on these subjects. She founded and directed the North Korea International Documentation Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., and has served as a consultant for several documentaries on North Korea. Weathersby holds a Ph.D. in Russian history, with a second field in Modern East Asia, from Indiana University.

Kaitlyn Aki Holloway, Untitled Detail

Sweet Briar College will host an opening reception for its 2013 senior art majors’ thesis show at 5 p.m. Friday, April 19, in Pannell Gallery. “The Art of Uncertainty” highlights culminating work by Vianey Chavez, Virginia Graves, Danielle Hall, Madeline Hodges, Kaitlyn Holloway, Sally Toms and Jennifer Will.

The largest senior art exhibition in years, it boasts a wide array of themes and media, from explorations of culture to celebrations of nature, from oil paintings to traditional mixed media to digital work.

“The show’s title is meant to reflect the different ways in which the artists attempt to grapple with the unpredictability and indefiniteness of life, either by embracing uncertainty through their media or by attempting to wrench thematic clarity from its grip,” said Holloway, whose artwork includes prints, as well as dolls made of kiln-fired and polymer clay. She uses natural homemade dyes created from local materials, such as walnuts found behind Sweet Briar House, for the dolls’ hair.

“My work explores femininity and various ideas that have been associated with femininity through the ages and in various cultures,” she said. “I am interested in exploring and elevating art forms that have been strongly associated with women and also considered frivolous.”

But there are many other themes that inspire Holloway’s art.

“Through my prints and dolls, I like to explore historical fashion, Christian iconography, the coming together of my Japanese and American heritages, folklores, feminine strength and death.”

“The Art of Uncertainty” runs until May 18. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday. Special gallery hours are available by appointment. The show is supported in part by a fund established by Carl and Barbara Calandra, parents of Amy Calandra Davis ’90.

Artist information:

Vianey Chavez is a studio art major with a business minor from Menlo Park, Calif. Her work, which varies in medium from printmaking to digital collage, is a celebration and exploration of her experience as a Mexican-American. Her artwork often features the motif of a decorative skull typical of Day of the Dead celebrations, an image that represents a new start.

Virginia Graves is a studio art major and art history minor from Appomattox. Her work and medium vary widely, though paint appears in almost all of her pieces. She is interested in how the media she uses inspire the outcome of her pieces. She has recently begun to experiment with sculpture.

Danielle Hall is a studio art major from Altavista. She is interested in the way light, water and color interact and explores this interaction in both paintings and photography. The serendipitous movement of paint on canvas inspires most of her paintings, while her photographs are informed by her work with lighting in the theater.

Madeline Hodges is a studio art and art history double-major with an Arts Management Certificate from Fort Belvoir. Her work mainly consists of three-dimensional pieces, including ceramics and sculpture, with themes reflecting her interest in impossible situations and the power and pervasiveness of the natural world.

Kaitlyn Aki Holloway is a studio art major with a minor concentration in creative writing in the B.F.A. program from Oceanside, Calif. She creates prints and dolls that explore themes of feminine strength paired with Christian iconography, historical fashion and a touch of the absurd.

Sally Anne Toms is a B.F.A. major in studio art with a concentration in creative writing and another major in business. She uses linoleum cuts, wood engravings and paper-cutting to explore her dual British and American nationality, her childhood ex-patriotism, and investigations into the way the natural world manifests itself in her childhood memories of England.

Jennifer Will is a philosophy and studio art double-major from Columbia, Md. Her oil paintings are inspired by ideas and concepts she finds through reading classics and philosophy and unusual juxtapositions of natural objects and human figures. Thematically, she is interested in exploring the different ways in which we encounter the unknown.

Molly Harper during her “Diversity Monologues” performance last fall.

Sweet Briar College senior Molly Harper literally stumbled into acting in high school. After failing to make the volleyball team, the Maryland native spotted a theater flyer on her way out of the gym.

“I went home and told my mother that I was going to audition,” she says. “Once I got into that show, I never left the theater.”

This month, Harper will present her final directing project, “Lies,” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 19, and Saturday, April 20, in Babcock Studio Theatre at Sweet Briar College.

Written and directed by Harper, who also composed all of the music, the play is a collection of monologues documenting lies by various characters and the reasoning behind them.

“As the audience watches the pieces move together, the … entanglement of lies develops into other issues of self-consciousness, self-perception, doubt, loneliness, depression and a strive to work for something honest and hopeful,” Harper says. “I hope that this play shows the universality of human emotions and how everyone feels the same way at one point or another.”

Molly Harper in a promotional photo for “Lies.” Photo by Margret Wood ’13.

The characters’ struggle and fragmented self-image are also reflected in the set, which Harper designed.

“Set design is one of my favorite hobbies, and it just so happens that our set is based on broken mirrors,” she says. “[It’s] a physical manifestation of the misinterpreted image … these characters have developed about themselves and the lies they have told over time.”

Harper, who will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater and music and an Arts Management Certificate, started developing the play when she wrote her first monologue for the College’s “Diversity Monologues.” That text later became part of “Lies.”

Started in 2011 to promote dialogue on campus, “Diversity Monologues” features performances by several Sweet Briar students who talk about their personal experiences to spark conversations about diversity and civility. Staged during first-year orientation, the monologues are among a number of commitments on Harper’s calendar. She’s also a member of Paint and Patches, Earphones, Taps and Toes, GLOW, Silhouettes, and served as InterClub Council president for the SGA board this year.

Inducted into Alpha Lambda Delta and Alpha Psi Omega, Harper has been a Dean’s List honor student since her first year at Sweet Briar and in 2012 made the Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities list. In addition, Harper, who is a Work Study assistant for the theater department and a theater tutor, received the theater department’s award for Excellence in Academics two years in a row.

“I love my department, because they’re always extremely helpful and willing to work with you on anything,” she says, remembering what it was like when Bill Kershner, director of the performing arts department, gave her a large role during her first year at Sweet Briar.

“I was so intimated,” she admits. “But as we worked together, he showed me what real acting was, and I knew that acting was what I was good at.”

Molly Harper in “The Beauty Queen of Leenane.”

This summer, Harper is taking her experience one step further. Along with other Sweet Briar theater students and faculty, she will travel to Scotland for the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival to perform in “Chops,” a play by Kirin McCrory.

“I play the lead, Marg, who has been accused of killing off all the men in town, but as most comedies go, nothing is as it seems. It’s quite a funny piece.”

Harper’s previous theater credits include “The Bacchae” (Second Messenger), “Under Milkwood” (Second Voice), “Dsvelada: Senior Show” (master carpenter), “The Secret Garden” (Mrs. Medlock), “Glass Menagerie” (master carpenter), “Crimes of the Heart” (stage manager), “Aladdin Jr.” (set designer/master carpenter), “As You Like It” (Touchstone), “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” (Mag), “Doubt” (Sister Aloysius), “The King and I” (master carpenter) and “Waiting for Godot” (Pozzo).

“Lies” stars fellow seniors Noelle Ames and Catherine Ramos, as well as Taneal Williams ’16, Patricia Morgan ’15 and Mariah Skalka ’14. Behind the stage, Harper is getting help from stage manager Madeline Skiba ’16, props master Julia Green ’13, master carpenter Sarah Capen ’15, sound designer Charlotte Hopkins ’15 and video projection operator Latoya Letmon ’14.

Tickets are free, but seating is limited. Email boxoffice@sbc.edu for ticket reservations starting Monday, April 15. For more information, contact Shelbie Filson at (434) 381-6228 or sfilson@sbc.edu.

— Janika Carey

The recital will feature works by Bach, Debussy, Chopin and John Field, as well as pieces from “Into the Woods,” “Song and Dance” and “The Civil War,” among other musical theater songs.

Ames, a Nashville, Tenn., native, says she has been involved in various choirs for years and began taking piano lessons in middle school. After graduation, she plans on working at a Girl Scouts camp, as well as an outdoor school in the fall.

Ames is a member of Sweet Tones and BAM and a Phonathon caller for the Annual Fund.

For more information about the recital, contact Marcia Thom at (434) 381-6221 or mthom@sbc.edu.