Alumna Spotlight:
Sherri Barnes Weiske, Class of 1986
Although Sherri Barnes Weiske worked in her family business, now Skyline Media, she knew she wanted to earn a college degree, but just not at any school. She wanted to earn her college degree locally.
The Thomasville native wanted to earn her degree at Thomas College, now known as Thomas University, where she found her second family.
"I loved it there," she said. "I loved the closeness. It felt like a family. The professors there worked with me, especially my biology professor, Dr. Search. Everybody worked together. I was even able to help with some of the tutoring in English. That built my self-esteem because I was told in high school that I was not college material, so I always remembered that, and it gave me the drive. Thomas University gave me my confidence back and I earned my degree."
She earned her associate's degree in education and later transferred to the University of Georgia earning a Bachelor of Science in Family and Consumer Sciences. Currently, she works with her brother running their family business, Skyline Media, which specializes in printing, silkscreen, embroidery, and design.
"Having a college degree and knowing that you have further education past high school allows you to advance yourself," Weiske, said. "You do not know if your family business will be around for long, so it is always good to be able to do something else." |
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Alum Spotlight:
Vincent Altobello, Class of 2018
Lieutenant Vincent Altobello received the Officer of the Year Award from the Rotary Club of Valdosta earlier this year. Altobello, nominated by his peers, was honored with the award because of his commitment to public safety throughout his 14-year career.
As a lieutenant, Altobello oversees a team of 12 officers in the department's road patrol division. Although he was in law enforcement before pursuing his bachelor's degree in criminal justice, Altobello attributes his career success to Thomas University.
"I learned a lot at Thomas University," Altobello said. "When I started, I thought I knew everything, and I would not have to study because I already had so many years in law enforcement, but I really did learn a lot. I learned a lot about the legal processes that go into criminal justice. It really helped me with my job. Through all the writing that I had to do and all the research I had to do, it gave me a better appreciation for report writing. Writing reports is a huge part of law enforcement. It is probably 75%-80% of what we do so it is a big chunk of our job. Every time we go to a call, we write a report about it. Everything we do, we must write a report so all the essays and discussions we had to do at Thomas, it gave me a better appreciation for writing detailed, thorough reports."
Altobello has had various roles throughout his career including being a patrol officer, narcotics detective, investigations sergeant, gang investigator, and a clandestine laboratory investigator. He also served as a member of the Tactical Operations Unit and is now the road patrol lieutenant.
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| Lieutenant Vincent Altobello |
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Alumni Homecoming Tailgate Celebration
For the second consecutive year, the Thomas University Alumni Board of Governors (ABOG) celebrated former students with an Alumni Homecoming Tailgate Party.
Alumni, family, and friends reconnected and celebrated their Night Hawks pride in the Alumni Tent in the parking lot of Thomasville Center of the Arts.
Decked out in TU gears, alumni enjoyed music and food and shared their fondest memories at TU before the start of the football game between TU and St. Thomas University.
ABOG President Jeremy Jones was a student-athlete at TU, and he graduated in 2011.
"I played baseball under coach Mike Lee, longtime baseball coach and the athletic director before Kurt (Stringfellow)," he said. "A lot of my best memories are from here and being on the team. I still keep in touch with those guys."
Alyssa Blakley, a member of ABOG, graduated from TU in 2016 and she said she has a lot of pride for her school.
"I really enjoyed my time while I was in school," she said. "I was a non-traditional student, but it was a great experience. I felt like I was in a bigger school, but it had that small town feeling too." |
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TU Students Supports Youth Organization Banquet Go Night Hawks!
A shout out to Coach Colin Cotter and several members of his basketball team who attended the annual Thomas County Young Life banquet, recently. "Get in the Game" was this year's theme, and tables were decorated in sport team memorabilia.
The TU basketball team enjoyed an evening of good food, fellowship, silly skits, and learned about Thomas County Young Life, a Christ-centered outreach ministry where volunteer leaders go to kids, build bridges of authentic friendships, and introduce them to Jesus Christ. The banquet is designed to build awareness, support, and finances for their local ministry. |
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TU Students Sworn Into National Guard Nearly 40 Thomas University students took an oath to enlist in the Georgia Army National Guard during Homecoming at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The students were sworn in by Georgia Army National Guard Major Lieutenant Patrick T. Jarvis.
They swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Georgia against all enemies — foreign and domestic — and obey the orders of the President of the United States and the Governor of the State.
"We have a population in the United States of about 335 million, only 2 million serve in the military," Jarvis said. "It is barely 1%, so congratulations on joining the one-percenters. I am proud of you for answering the call to serve your country." |
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Shakeena Jenkins
TU MLS graduate |
| TU Medical Laboratory Science Program Attains Perfect Pass Rate Thomas University's Medical Laboratory Science (MLS) Fall 2023 graduates achieved a 100% pass rate in the American Society for Clinical Pathology National Board of Registry Exam for Medical Laboratory Scientist.
The exam certifies individuals who have met the academic and clinical requirements and have successfully earned acceptable performance levels on examinations to become medical laboratory scientists. Students must take the exam within a year of graduating.
"These results show that TU's MLS Program has been making updates to the curriculum to meet accreditation standards and produce highly qualified medical laboratory scientists," said Jeanette Norris, MLS Program Director, and Clinical Coordinator. |
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| TU Adjunct Professor Assists with Disaster Response to Hurricane Helene
Dr. Bob Burgess is an adjunct professor with Thomas University in the Division of Education and serves as a Major in the Georgia State Defense Force.
He, along with GSDF Soldiers, were deployed to various areas across Georgia in response to Hurricane Helene. The GSDF's focus was clearing the roads of fallen trees in Augusta, Valdosta, and surrounding communities. |
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Photo Courtesy of CJ Mack/Velishotz
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TU Football Wins Conference Game The Military Transition Football Team secured a win against SUN conference rival, Warner University on October 19. The Night Hawks outscored the Royals 27-21.
Head Coach Orlando Mitjans said about the win: "I am proud of these young men. They played hard for 4/4 and did not give up. We played well in all phases, special teams, offense, and defense and we did it for 4/4. When you do those things, you have a chance to win some games and today we did that, and we came out victorious." |
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Night Hawks Shine at Brewton-Parker Invite Thomas delivered spectacular individual performances at the Brewton-Parker Invite.
Junior Landon Watts notched his first career individual win by finishing first in the Men's 8k with an impressive time of 28:17. In addition to Watts, freshman Caden Godwin delivered an impressive performance in the same race, finishing 5th with a time of 30:14.
On the women's side, every runner finished in the top three. Senior Cassandra Richards led the way, earning her first individual career win. Her sister, senior Victoria Richards, finished the race in second, and freshman Riley Rutledge had her best finish of the year, clocking in at 25:22. |
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TU Players Highlighted at Awards Banquet Athletes from the women's soccer team were recipients of Southern States Athletic Conference Post Season Awards.
Sophomores Kaitlyn Herb and Ali Baca earned 2nd team honors for the second straight season. Herb led the team in goals with 15, three being game winners and seven assists for 37 points this season.
Hannah Henriksen and Jule Rohleder were named to the all-freshman team for their contributions to the team in their first year. Henriken scored five goals and had an assist in her first campaign as a Night Hawk and Rohleder had a goal and four assists and was a reliable defender in the backline as well.
Senior McKenna Swartzman was named to the Champions of Character team as the representative for Thomas. |
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A Trio of Night Hawks headline SSAC Awards Banquet The Thomas University men's soccer team picked up some hardware at the Southern States Athletic Conference Men's Soccer banquet.
Junior Jorge Gonzalez earned 2nd team honors for the second year in a row following a solid season where he started all but one game where he finished with 76 saves on 103 shots faced.
Freshman Pablo Novoa got the nod for the All-Freshman team. After going down with an injury at the beginning of the season, Novoa came back and became a staple in the lineup, starting in eight of the final nine games of the season.
Captain Alex Ruane was named to the Champions of Character team.
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