Meet the alumni, leadership and faculty singled out in various industries.

Education

Degrees: Bachelor of Science in elementary education; Master of Educational Leadership; Doctorate of Educational Leadership

麻豆原创 president

Tourism and Transportation

2019 麻豆原创 Honorary Alumni Award recipient, member of dean鈥檚 advisory board of the Rosen College of Hospitality Management and a charter member of the 麻豆原创 Board of Trustees

Degrees: Bachelor of Arts in journalism

Politics and Government

Degrees: Bachelor of Arts in interdisciplinary studies;听Master of Nonprofit Management; Master of Public Administration

Degree: Bachelor of Science in marketing

Entertainment, Sports and the Arts

Degree: Master of Business Administration

麻豆原创 School of Performing Arts faculty

Business

Degree: Master of Business Administration

Degree: Bachelor of Science in accounting

Degree: Master of Business Administration

Degree: Bachelor of Science in computer science

The Ones to Watch

Bachelor of Science in finance

Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice

“I lost nearly every penny I had flipping homes in Nashville back in 2008 when the housing market crashed, so I’m most excited about getting my redemption in the real estate world and rewriting that negative chapter of my life into a positive one,” says Brian Kleinschmidt, who earned a bachelor’s degree in the radio-television聽with a minor in marketing.

Kleinschmidt 鈥斅爅ust half of an ambitious聽husband-wife team along with his wife Mika 鈥斅爄s聽rewriting that chapter with a new HGTV series “100 Day Dream Home,” which premiered Feb. 16 at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes will air Sundays at 10 p.m.

The thought is enough to send a shiver down the spine of any homebuyer:聽The Kleinschmidts conceptualize, build and personalize homes from the ground up to be聽move-in ready in 100 days.

“There’s always unexpected challenges in construction, but the most frustrating challenges are the ones that we have no control over聽like the weather,” says Brian Kleinschmidt. “We can usually overcome minor hiccups in our timeline but when a hurricane or tropical storm comes through and delays us by a week, that timeline goes right out the window.”

“Every single episode/build comes down to the wire, but we do whatever it takes to get the homes completed in 100 days or less,” he says.聽“It’s very stressful, but also very rewarding when we see the smiles and excitement on our clients’ faces when they see their dream home for the first time.”

The Tampa, Florida-based couple’s pilot premiered in April under the title “90 Day Dream Home,” but this Sunday marks the start of a series.

鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 believe our margin,鈥� says Johnson, who majored in criminal justice聽and earned a master鈥檚 in communication from 麻豆原创. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 even aware it was that large until the judges notified me once the games ended. I was shocked, excited and incredibly proud.鈥�

Johnson鈥檚 journey to July鈥檚 Pan American games in Lima, Peru, started when she was just six. She continued playing for fun throughout her adolescent years. And by the time high school graduation came around, she knew that bowling was her calling. Johnson, who grew up in Miami, had bowling friends from around the state who were heading to Orlando to play on 麻豆原创鈥檚 new bowling team, the Striking Knights.

鈥淸Striking Knights was] like a little family, and we were good at what we did. Bowling fueled us, and in turn we fueled each other.鈥� 鈥撀�Stefanie Johnson 鈥�06 鈥�08MA

鈥淚 joined the Striking Knights when they were brand new,鈥� says Johnson. 鈥淲e were like a little family, and we were good at what we did. Bowling fueled us, and in turn we fueled each other.鈥�

After graduating from 麻豆原创 in 2006, she began her career on Team USA as a professional bowler. It took more than a decade of hard work and practice to qualify for the Pan American Games, but 2019 was the year she not only qualified, but emerged the No. 1 qualifier in the U.S. This was a dream come true for Johnson. who never wavered in her faith that she鈥檇 one day play in the games.

鈥淭his is the greatest opportunity to be given,鈥� Johnson says. 鈥淭he accumulation of hard work, love for the game, and remaining positive is what has pushed me forward. It is what inspires me to represent our country in Lima.鈥�

Earlier this summer, Johnson and O鈥橩eefe set off for Peru, where they played 12 games over two days. Johnson handily beat the other teams with an individual record for the highest six-game block.

Since the Pan American Games, Johnson has competed in a number of Professional Women鈥檚 Bowling Association events, including the recent World Championship games in Las Vegas.

鈥淭his has been a huge year for me and Team USA,鈥� says Johnson. 鈥溌槎乖� helped facilitate the love I have for bowling. I look back and am glad to see how much I鈥檝e grown as an athlete.鈥�

鈥淚t was difficult setting up a memorial for my husband, making sure my son was OK, getting my assignments in on time and figuring out my own health,鈥� Catron says. 鈥淭here was a lot going on at the time.鈥�

Overcoming Obstacles

For the past two years, Catron has experienced back pain and fatigue and was preparing to have surgery this year. In 2011, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and when she became ill at the end of 2017, Catron moved her mother in her home to help care for her. Her mother鈥檚 condition became worse in November 2018 and she passed away weeks later. Catron wouldn鈥檛 know until five months later during her mother鈥檚 final months she too had breast cancer.

鈥淚t was a little tough taking care of my mom and going to school, but your parents are there to take care of you when you鈥檙e born,鈥� Catron says. 鈥淲hy wouldn鈥檛 I take care of my mom when she needed to be taken care of?鈥�

But by the end of this past spring鈥檚 semester, Catron managed to meet all of her graduation requirements except completing her thesis, which focused on how military families dealing with loss viewed media coverage of casualties from wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. With uncertainty surrounding her health, Admissions Specialist Kelsey Loftus and Professors Sally Hastings and Ann Miller stepped in to help make sure she could meet her goal. They helped Catron switch her degree to the non-thesis option and turn her work into the required applied project instead.

鈥淚 needed a way to graduate that wasn鈥檛 the traditional way. I was very fortunate to have professors that understood I needed help and guidance,鈥� Catron says. 鈥淚f it wasn鈥檛 for them I wouldn鈥檛 be here. It was their dedication to this university that allowed me to complete my education at a level that I鈥檓 satisfied with.鈥�

Dedicated Listener

Since she was a teenager, Catron had worked in radio under the name Erica Kay. The Boston native remembers her interest in the field started when she was about 5.

鈥淚 had a recorder and I would record myself talking into it and I would listen to myself talking back. I would call into radio shows in Boston when I was 10,鈥� Catron says.

Throughout her years of working in the Top 40 format, she always loved interacting with listeners and hearing their stories, understanding why they would request certain songs. Eventually her work would bring her to Florida鈥檚 panhandle, where she met Roger, who became her husband for eight years.She says he encouraged her to go back to school and pursue a master鈥檚 degree.

鈥淚鈥檓 glad I went back to school because venturing into interpersonal relationships was what I needed to change careers,鈥� Catron says. 鈥淚 knew I wanted to work with bereaved military families.鈥�

Studying Grief

This shift in focus came after years of seeing how the death of a childhood friend, Jared Monti, would impact his parents. Monti was an Army soldier who died during a 2006 battle in Afghanistan and posthumously was awarded a Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama years later. Near Memorial Day in 2011, Monti鈥檚 dad spoke on NPR about his son鈥檚 death and how he would drive his sons鈥� truck every day to feel connect to him. This broadcast would later inspire a No.1 Billboard hit titled I Drive Your Truck聽by Lee Brice. With the release of the song, more members of military families spoke out about similar habits motivated by maintaining a connection to their lost loved ones.

鈥淚n my research I wanted to understand why these people are referred to as life-long grievers.鈥�

鈥淚n my research I wanted to understand why these people are referred to as life-long grievers because it always seemed like they were sad,鈥� Catron says. 鈥淚 wanted to figure out what it was in their daily routines that triggered that sadness over and over and over again.鈥�

Catron suspected part of the grief came from the media鈥檚 portrayal of war casualties, so she explored this topic within some of her studies. In her final project, she worked with Hastings to conduct a study on why family members of the deceased choose to listen to certain music, an interest that tied back to her days in radio.

Looking Ahead

When Catron started pursuing her degree in 2016, she envisioned working for an outreach program at Veterans Affairs or at a national cemetery. Now her focus is spending quality time with her 10-year-old son, Turner, and doing everything she can to have more of it, including taking chemotherapy medication.

鈥淲hen you have Stage 4 cancer and are not given a time frame … you feel like you have to shove life-long lessons into an undetermined amount of time.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard when you have Stage 4 cancer and are not given a time frame. You feel like you have to shove life-long lessons into an undetermined amount of time,鈥� Catron says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to overwhelm [my son], but there are certain things I want him to walk away with 鈥撯�� one of them being empathy. 鈥� I want my son to also see the importance of seeking continuous education, no matter what field you鈥檙e in.鈥�

Although it has been a difficult time for Catron and her son, she emphasizes that this challenging time serves the purpose of building his character as a strong person. She hopes he can offer a sympathetic ear and just be there for people, like she has tried to do throughout her life.