Out of the Big Blue

As UK alums and loyal supporters of DanceBlue, you will find it heartwarming to know that UK alum Erin Priddy ’09 AS has taken the spirit of DanceBlue even further.

Priddy, along with her sister Jenny Jackson ’06 CIS, ’08 ’10 ED, organized DanceMaroon, a dance marathon benefiting the UK Pediatric Oncology Clinic. The event was held at Ballard High School in Louisville on April 22 and raised over $18,000!

Priddy, currently a student at the University of Louisville Medical School, was the 2009 DanceBlue overall chair, and also served as special events chair and historian during her time at UK. Jackson, a school psychologist for Jefferson County Public Schools, was the marketing chair for the first DanceBlue held in 2006 and was also a graduate assistant for DanceBlue previously.

Priddy decided to organize DanceMaroon based on the profound influence of her experiences with DanceBlue. “After working with DanceBlue at UK I entered medical school wanting to pursue pediatric oncology,” says Priddy. “There are other specialties in the running, but pediatric hematology and oncology is still at the top of the list.” She says the idea of mini dance marathons began with the 2007 DanceBlue leadership team. It has proven to be a terrific way for both sisters to stay involved with DanceBlue, even after leaving UK’s campus.

“DanceBlue meant so much to my college experience and guided my career path today,” says Priddy. “It was my hope that students at Ballard would also be greatly impacted through their participation in such an event. It was so rewarding to see all of the students celebrate their hard work when the $18,497.22 total was held up during the reveal.”

The funds raised from DanceMaroon will help pay the salaries for two social workers in the UK Pediatric Oncology Clinic, help provide funding for research and contribute to long-term follow up studies.

More than a month after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, our hearts still go out to those affected. For UK alums with personal history in the area, news of the tragedy was even more difficult.

One such alum is Graham Shelby ’94 CIS, who taught English in Fukushima through the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program directly following his graduation from the University of Kentucky. Shelby, who up to that point had lived in Kentucky his entire life, was ecstatic about the opportunity.

“I wanted to test myself by going to live in a place and a set of circumstances different than anything I’d ever known,” he said.

Together with his wife, Gabrielle, who taught at a school in a farming village, Shelby embraced his new surroundings and his new-found friends. He noted that while there were many cultural differences, much was similar.

Shelby is currently a writer and part-time radio host for WFPL in Louisville. In a reflection which first appeared on the station’s website and was later printed in the Courier-Journal, he wrote:

“The land around our town was mostly low, pine-covered hills that looked, actually, a lot like parts of Kentucky. The weather and climate were almost the same as back home. And while Fukushima has a few cities, it’s identified as a rural place.

“The people we knew in Fukushima were proud of their home and we were taken on many driving tours of the mountains in the west, the lakes in the middle, and the beach in the east. I remember driving past Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant and thinking how ominous it was…”

Shelby notes that the town he and his wife lived in was too far inland to be hit by the tsunami, but less than 30 miles from the nuclear plant. It has been 12 years since the couple left Japan, however they were able to touch base through email and Facebook to determine that their closest friends came through the tragedy okay.

He wrote, “Even when the world’s attention turns to some new war or disaster, Fukushima will never be the same. The cleanup from the nuclear plant alone could take years and cost untold billions of dollars. Whole towns near the plant have been abandoned; others were wiped out by the tsunami.

“I keep thinking about the kids I taught. I’ve gone through old photos of young, skinny me posing with smiling, clowning children who would by now be in their late 20s or early 30s. Where are those kids today?

“These days I cringe every time I come across the name Fukushima. I hate that it’s now joined Three Mile Island and Chernobyl as place names that are shorthand for the particular disasters that happened there. Fukushima is not just a news event, not just a nuclear crisis, it’s also a place millions of people—in and out of Japan—have called home.

“If nothing else, I maintain faith in the people of Fukushima. They’re strong and resilient, and it was from them that I learned to live in a place and a set of circumstances different than anything I’d ever known.”

Shelby lived in Fukushima for several years, beginning in the mid-1990s.

Shelby, far right, having dinner with friends in Japan.

Shelby, in jersey number four, played 3 on 3 basketball with friends in Japan.

Special thanks to Shelby for permission to post segments of his article, titled, “More than just a news event.”

During my lunch hour last Friday, I walked up to the Mining and Mineral Resources Building on campus to see a 300 million year old shark.

Actually it was the jawbone of an ancient fossil shark known to paleontologists as Edestus. This piece of history was pulled from the roof of a Kentucky coal mine in February by miner Jay Wright.

The object is a large, intact jawbone, including several complete teeth and is being studied by the Kentucky Geological Survey and the UK Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. 

I was able to view it on display in the lobby of the Mining and Mineral Resources Building, along with learning a brief history of the Carboniferous geologic period. According to the dictionary, the name Carboniferous comes from the Latin word for coal, carbo.  Many coal beds were laid down globally during this period, hence the name. Kentucky would have been under a shallow sea during the time period when this shark was alive.

The jawbone is impressive in person, and I noticed immediately that the teeth are serrated, like a steak knife. Amazing that such detail can still be seen so clearly after 300 million years!

The specimen includes original bone material encased in shale and several teeth, some of which are complete, measuring 2 inches wide at their base. Based on the size of this specimen, researchers believe this creature may have been about the size of a modern great white shark, or as much as 20 feet in length. They hope this particular find will contribute to the understanding of the prehistoric shark.

Perhaps not a typical mid-day lunch break, but you never can tell what you will find when you explore UK’s campus!

Have you or someone you love been touched by breast cancer? Regardless, you won’t want to miss “Nevertheless: A Story of Resolve,” a play about a woman whose faith falters after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Fellow UK Alumna Lisa Brown ’91 CIS, ’95 GS wrote the play which premieres at UK’s Memorial Hall on April 22, 23, 29 and May 1. Representatives from the Susan G. Komen Foundation will be at each performance with information about breast cancer.

Brown has been writing plays for Lexington area churches since 1996, but decided to start her own production company, Lisa A. Brown Productions: Write the Vision, LLC, to reach a broader audience.  She also currently serves as the director of student and multicultural affairs in the UK School of Journalism and Telecommunications.

Each of us has been affected by breast cancer,” she said in a recent interview with UK. “We either have a personal history with it or we know someone who has. Breast cancer does not discriminate based on race, economic status, political affiliation or even gender.”

A portion of the proceeds from the play will be donated to Step By Step, a non-profit organization for young single mothers.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 the day of the performance and are available online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (859) 257-TICS, or by visiting the UK Student Center Ticket Office, room 253.

For more information, contact Lisa A. Brown at (859) 492-3036 or by email at Visionary@LisaABrown.com.

You know what they say about riding a bike—once you learn how, you never forget. These days, it’s easier than ever to pedal your way around the University of Kentucky. In fact, the League of American Bicyclists released its first class of Bike Friendly Universities earlier this month, and UK received an honorable mention.

Students enjoy the multitude of bike trails because they offer a quick and easy way to get to class without the hassle of parking. But a ride around our beautiful campus is something everyone can enjoy. It’s also something you might consider as a means for visiting your old stomping grounds at UK during the upcoming Alumni weekend.

Be sure to send us a photo if you do choose to bike around campus this Spring!

More news about biking on UK’s campus:

• A funding partnership between several UK units is being formalized this Spring to provide dedicated funding to improve bike facilities and services on and around campus.  An advisory committee is currently being formed to identify priority projects and to oversee implementation.  Anyone interested in serving on this committee can contact Stuart Kearns in Parking and Transportation Services at stuart.kearns@uky.edu.

• The Wildcat Wheels Bicycle Library has launched a spring series of bike maintenance clinics that will take place in its Campus Repair Shop and across campus.  To facilitate the clinics across campus, WWBL will debut their new pedal-powered mobile bike shop.  More info on WWBL, the clinic schedule and the Mobile Bike Shop can be found at www.wildcatwheels.org.

• UK Health & Wellness Program will offer a Bike Commuting Class on April 20 where attendees can learn basic, on-road riding skills and strategies for route and gear selection. A short ride around campus will be included for those curious about commuting. Commuting class is for competent riders only, and helmets are required for the group ride. The class is taught by Michael Galbraith, a League of American Bicyclists certified instructor, and will be held from 5-7 p.m. behind Memorial Coliseum, near the outdoor bleachers. Class size is limited. Register now at http://www.uky.edu/HR/wellness/bikeclass.html.

UK Alumni are invited to join the entire UK family as we celebrate the tenure of President Lee T. Todd Jr. and First Lady Patsy Todd at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 12, at Patterson Office Tower Plaza on UK’s campus.

For those who cannot attend in person, you can visit www.uky.edu/uknow to view the live stream broadcast of the celebration.

Whether you will be on campus or not, you are invited to leave well wishes for the President and First Lady. Click here to leave your message electronically.

The celebration, similar to UK’s State of the University Address, will commemorate the more than 10 years of service that the first family has given to the university with an ice cream social and speakers as well as a special address from the President himself.

In the event of inclement weather, the celebration will be moved to the Singletary Center for the Arts.