Washington Adventist University to Honor Outstanding Alumni at Awards Ceremony and Reception on April 9
Maryland’s Major General Linda Singh is Alumna of the Year
Takoma Park, MD (April 1, 2016) Some of Washington Adventist University’s outstanding alumni will be honored on Saturday, April 9 as part of the Alumni Weekend activities. They include Maryland’s Adjutant General, a young couple who started a non-profit service organization, an artist and community service volunteer, an educator and WAU staff member, Maryland’s Comptroller, a victim advocate, and a current student who serves as a spiritual life coordinator on campus.
Linda Singh will be honored as Alumna of the Year. She is the 29th adjutant general of Maryland, and is responsible for the daily operations of the Maryland Military Department that includes the state’s Army National Guard, Air National Guard, Emergency Management Agency and the Defense Force. Major General Singh’s military career spans more than 30 years, and she has served in staff and command positions at every level, including deployed assignments in Kosovo and a combat tour in Afghanistan. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University). Singh also holds a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College, and a master’s in business administration, military management from Touro International University. She is a fellow at the International Women’s Leadership program at Harvard University.
Gary and Narissa Saint-Fleur will be honored as this year’s Young Alumni of the Year. They met and fell in love at Washington Adventist University and graduated with their bachelor’s degrees – Gary in 2011 and Narissa in 2012. Gary went on to earn his master’s degree in occupational therapy from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Narissa earned her master’s degree in business administration from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. They have since founded the nonprofit, Kingdom Goals, which uses soccer to share God’s love with the children of Haiti. The program is currently sponsoring the education of 24 children, and the Saint-Fleurs have forged a partnership with the Washington Adventist University Missions Department to give college students the opportunity to help develop a more sustainable future for the residents of Haiti. In addition to their non-profit work, the Saint-Fleurs are busy raising daughter Nyla, born in 2015.
Darrell Milam will be honored as SGPS Alumnus of the Year. Milam graduated from the School of Graduate and Professional Studies with a bachelor’s degree in business, which he put to good use as he moved up the ranks from admitting clerk to personnel director at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, and then at Adventist Healthcare where he headed various for-profit enterprises. Milam used his business expertise to open his own company as a general contractor and landscape artist. In recent years, he has produced commissioned wood work for clients. His recent volunteer efforts include 15 consecutive years as Sligo Challenger Pathfinder Director, and he is active on the Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church board.
Lahna Farver will receive this year’s Honorary Alumna of the Year award. Born and raised in Michigan, Farver earned her undergraduate degree in family life and consumer sciences and education, and her graduate degree in teaching at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Her master’s thesis literature review was part of the research used to help establish the federal school lunch program. While teaching at the Takoma Academy, Farver served as office manager and assistant to the pastors at Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church. She was certified as a volunteer manager and developed a robust volunteer program at the church, recruiting and training volunteers. For the past ten years, Farver has been a valued member of the Washington Adventist University Advancement and University Relations team as the executive assistant. She provides leadership support and creative innovation to the office’s daily operations and strategic goals. In this role, she offers guidance to the Alumni Association, the Board Development Committee and the Office of the President in areas relating to fundraising and alumni relations. She also mentors students and faithfully supports campus activities.
The Honorary Alumnus of the Year Award goes this year to Peter Franchot, who is currently serving his third term as Maryland’s 33rd Comptroller. In this role, he has demonstrated his respect for the sacrifices of the state’s working families by making it easier for them to file their taxes, ensuring that refunds are provided in a timely way, and by protecting the vulnerable from fraudulent tax preparers and financial predators. Franchot also serves as an independent fiscal watchdog on the Board of Public Works, preventing wasteful spending and demanding that taxpayers get the best value for their tax dollars. Franchot attended college in Massachusetts, receiving his bachelor’s degree at Amherst College and his juris doctorate degree at Northeastern School of Law. Prior to being elected Comptroller, Franchot was elected to five terms in the Maryland House of Delegates, where he served on the Appropriations Committee and chaired the Subcommittee on Transportation and the Environment. Franchot and his wife, Anne Maher, live in Takoma Park.
This year’s Zella Holbert Alumni Award will be presented to Kassie M. Edwards. Edwards received her master’s degree in public administration from Washington Adventist University, and is an advocate for victims of sexual assault, and for educational reform and social change in the community. She is currently the assistant to the director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C., and has volunteered her time as an informal educator, mentor, victim advocate and Urban League Social Committee chair, as well as serving as an AmeriCorps and White House volunteer. Edwards contributes to her community spiritually as the young adult ministry leader at Restoration Praise Center in Bowie, Maryland.
This year’s Zella Holbert Student Award will be presented to Jonathan Copeland who currently serves as Spiritual Life Coordinator for Morrison Hall. In this role, he started the “Morning Manna” vespers in the Wilkinson Hall dining hall at 8:45 a.m. each morning for residents, commuters and employees of the university. Copeland also resurrected the “Adopt a Grandparent” program, which operated on campus more than 30 years ago, so that students could make weekly visits to the residents of Genesis Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center. They typically play games with and entertain residents, while also providing inspirational programming. As a member of the university’s ENACTUS business club, Copeland has volunteered more than 50 hours, assisting with the Long Branch Business League initiative with beautification and mentorship activities, and tutoring elementary students from low-income families.
In addition to the awards banquet, Alumni Weekend will feature a number of events, ranging from a Kick-off Social on Thursday, April 7 to an Acro-Airs Home Show on Sunday, April 10, starting at 7 p.m.
For more information about the awards banquet or Alumni Weekend activities, contact Alumni Relations Director Ellie Barker at ebarker@wau.edu or 301-891-4133.
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Washington Adventist University is Montgomery County’s only four-year private college. Part of the Seventh-day Adventist system of higher education, Washington Adventist University has been educating college students since 1904 on a 19-acre campus in suburban Takoma Park, close to the nation’s capital. Approximately 1,100 students of all faiths participate in the university’s eight graduate and 32 undergraduate programs. The 2014 edition of U.S. News & World Report ranked Washington Adventist University among the best regional colleges in the north.
Media Contacts:
Angie Crews, 301-891-4134, acrews@wau.edu
Donna Bigler, 240-286-1169, dbigler@wau.edu