WISHING HER WAY BACK TO CAMPUS


Even during a pandemic, the Queens community couldn’t pass up the opportunity to celebrate Miss Betty’s birthday. On January 28, President Lugo surprised Miss Betty at her West Charlotte home, bringing with him flowers and a card signed by Queens faculty and staff members. In addition, hundreds of alumni, students, faculty and staff wished her well via social media. It was a day marked by excitement, ear- to-ear smiles and a birthday wish—to be back on campus with her “babies” soon.


—Danielle Phillips ’13, MS ’18 THE DAWN OF A MUSICIAN


While hunkering down in Vermont during the pandemic, Marcie Hernandez ’12 released her first album, Amanecer, Spanish for dawn or rising sun. As a music therapist who owns her own practice, True Sound Music Therapy, Hernandez said that her self-expression is


just as important to her as helping others through their growth and healing via music. While Hernandez lived in Charlotte, she began taking


guitar lessons from John Tosco, founder and director of the local nonprofit Tosco Music. A natural singer, Hernandez began performing original songs at open mic nights at The Evening Muse in the NoDa Arts District in Charlotte. Though she grew up in a bi-lingual household, and her parents are from Puerto Rico, she first wrote songs in English.


“I felt like my vocabulary in Spanish was not quite


the same as my vocabulary in English when it comes to, ‘well, how can I talk about something and make a metaphor out of it,’ ” explained Hernandez, adding that her music blossomed more when she began incorporating Spanish. “It tapped into a different part of myself that I hadn’t really tapped into in the performance aspect.” Listening to the Light a Torch track on her album, a song about how Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, it is apparent that she’s now comfortable writing and singing in Spanish. “A lot of the Spanish lyrics are about me showing my support and solidarity for my people, my family and friends who live down there,” she said. “I would love to have as many people as possible hear the album. …It’s been such a wonderful experience.”


—Lori K. Tate


To listen to Marcie Hernandez’s debut album, Amanecer, visit www.marciehernandez.com.


DIFFERENCES MAKE US STRONGER WHILE DELIVERING BETTER RESULTS


As Will Sparks opened the first virtual Leaders in Action Lecture Series of 2021 this past February, he stated the critical importance of the evening’s focus: “The Business Imperative for Social Justice.” The Dennis Thompson Chair and Professor of Leadership at the McColl School of Business added that this particular lecture set a new attendance registration record for the series’ 18-year-history with more than 350 people signing up. “This is reflective of how important this subject is,” Sparks added. Queens President Dan Lugo; Tanya S. Blackmon MBA ’00,


executive vice president and chief diversity, inclusion and equity officer at Novant Health; and Reggie Willis MBA ’03, chief diversity officer at Ally Financial, served as panelists, while the lecture delved into the definitions of diversity and justice. President Lugo defined diversity first by explaining how it is all of the things in our community that make us similar to others and different from others. “In America, we have grown accustomed to thinking of diversity in binary terms,” he said. “I hope we can move away from a very outdated way of thinking of diversity.”


Further into the dialogue, Blackmon explained that justice


is related to equity, which is looking at systems at the local, state and federal level that allow or inhibit people access to opportunities, resources and tools. “We want to make sure we’re putting systems in place so that people have access to what they need,” explained the Novant Health executive. Near the end of the discussion, the panel talked about the benefits of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Willis responded that the natural tension that occurs in the room when you have different perspectives optimizes performance. “You get good outcomes if everyone thinks the same


and everyone has a homogeneous view, but are you going to get the best outcome?” he asked. “I always think about our organization as a circle. I don’t want people to come into the circle and it not expand to meet and accept who they are when they come in. …I want to create space for the differences that they bring.”


—Lori K. Tate 9


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52