The Journal

Yutaro Ito ’25 and Nagisa Harada ’25 perform Japanese hip-hop.

Prof. Ni Zhang thanked the guests and performers for celebrating Lunar New Year and the Multicultural Festival on campus.

Hundreds of students, employees and community members celebrated the Year of the Rabbit at Marietta College.

Liting Fan played the gu zheng, a traditional Chinese instrument.

Nagisa Harada ’25 and Yutaro Ito ’25 were two of the four emcees for the event.

Dancing dragons helped to start the Lunar New Year Celebration.

Welcoming the Year of the Rabbit

The first time Nagisa Harada ’25 celebrated Lunar New Year was her freshman year at Marietta. The international student, whose hometown is Tokyo, Japan, spent her second year emceeing the event.

Marietta’s Lunar New Year Celebration is also combined with the Multicultural Festival, so students, employees and community members can experience a variety of cultural foods, traditions and performances.

“The Lunar New Year is from Chinese culture, and I was not familiar with that before,” Harada says. “But after I came to Marietta College, I found out about the Lunar New Year and I thought it was a great idea to celebrate it with other students, faculty, staff, and community members. By combining Lunar New Year and the Multicultural Festival, we can learn not only Chinese culture but also other countries’ cultures, so it is a great opportunity to expand our view of the world.”

Assistant Professor Jenni Zhang helped plan and coordinate the event, which sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. She says this is the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese Zodiac, and the Year of the Cat in the Vietnamese Zodiac. In addition to traditional Lunar New Year activities, Marietta’s even also included tables featuring cultures in China, Brazil, Guatemala, Japan, South Korea, Nepal, Lebanon, Ghana and Russia.

“At Marietta College, we are grateful for the diversity and culture our international students, faculty and staff members bring to the community,” Zhang says. “We have students and employees from Asia, Central America, South America, Africa, and the Middle East. We honor our ties with our oversea partners.”

Zhang and her students began planning for the celebration during the fall semester. Yutaro Ito ’25, a performer and emcee, also participated in a Lunar New Year video, which was shown during the event.

“I believe in the importance of having cultural events on campus for the sake of a better understanding of different cultures,” Ito says. “As one of Marietta College’s seven core values emphasizes, having a global perspective is significant to live in this century. I hope this annual event will continue to exist and be embraced by many people.”

Winter Weekend 2023

Alumni and friends of Marietta College will celebrate Winter Weekend 2023 on February 10^th and February 11^th. The highlight of the weekend is the College’s Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

This year, the College will induct eight former student-athletes from the Class of 2012. These alumni had such storied careers and make up arguably the greatest collection of talent on campus at any one time. Therefore, the Hall of Fame committee decided it was important to induct them all on the same weekend.

This year’s inductees are women’s rower Kelli Barnette, women’s track and field athlete Ashley (Bault) Williams, baseball players Austin Blaski, Brian Gasser and Tim Saunders, men’s basketball players Trevor Halter and Kevin Knab, and men’s track and field athlete Ryan Householder.

The College will also be honoring all current and former women’s athletes in honor of the 50^th anniversary of Title IX legislation that helped transform women’s athletics.

Making a Match

Marietta football player travels to Texas to donate stem cells to ailing woman

On multiple occasions, Rob Wallace has been proud of his son, Jack Wallace ’23. Many of those moments have come on the football field.

In January, Jack did something that brought Rob and his wife, Dina, to tears because their son was showing what it means to be a real-life hero. Jack and Rob flew to Houston where Jack donated stem cells that he hopes will save the life of a 25-year-old woman he has never met.

“He’s a good kid. I think I would have been really surprised if there had been any hesitation on his part,” Rob says. “It really hit home for both of us when we were sitting in Houston, and they had him hooked up to the machines and they were explaining how rare it is to match up with someone. If this is that rare, I can’t imagine being the person on the other end. Then I thought they have to be overjoyed knowing my son was a match.”

Jack knew the odds of matching someone was slim, especially only six months after joining the registry.

“I got a call in October, and they told me I matched with someone,” Jack says. “I didn’t think about it for long. Of course, I wanted to help.”

Originally, Jack was supposed to go in December, but the recipient backed out. A few weeks later, though, Jack got another call, and everything was back on for him to travel to Houston.

“I had the easy part,” he says. “There was some medicine I had to take before heading to Houston that helps increase certain cells and that had me feeling a little off. But the person who is receiving this donation has been dealing with a lot more than me. I just can’t believe I matched so fast, and it is an honor to help.”

Jack was in a position to help after he joined 140 other Marietta students who participated in a marrow donor and stem cell registry drive conducted by Be The Match and Get in the Game in April 2022. All Wallace had to do was provide a cheek swab and his DNA was later identified to match an unknown 25-year-old woman.

“I hope to meet her one day,” Jack says. “I was told we have to wait one year, and if we both agree to meet, then our names and contact information will be shared.”

Jack sat out the 2022 football season while recovering from a back injury suffered during spring practice. He helped the coaching staff break down video, while working on his degree in Political Science. He returned to his home in Columbus and is working but plans to return to campus in the fall to complete his degree and play his final year for Coach Andy Waddle.

“Jack has the opportunity to do something most of us never get the chance to do, save a life and answer someone’s prayer,” Waddle says. “I’ve had the pleasure of coaching nine players who have won All-American Awards at Marietta, but Jack is one of a very few real-life heroes I’ve coached — the other being Darrien Fields, who donated his kidney to his uncle in 2019. I could not imagine being prouder of someone than I am of Jack.”

The program hits close to home for Waddle. His wife, Kerry Jean, had a bone marrow transplant when she was 26 years old. “Had she not had a transplant, she would have likely passed away,” Waddle says. “Statistically the best donors are young healthy men, and I’m a football coach with a team full of young healthy men.”

Waddle organized a Be the Match program in 2016, but last year he reached out to “Get in The Game,” which focuses on college athletes running bone marrow drives on campuses across the U.S.

“Last year, all 10 Ohio Athletic Conference football teams joined forces and partnered with ‘Get in The Game and ‘Be The Match,’ ” Waddle says.

Jack is thankful that Waddle is passionate about the “Be The Match” program.

“A lot of credit goes to Coach Waddle, because, without having him encouraging us to sign up and organize the program, I likely wouldn’t have ended up on a registry like this,” Jack says. “Now I may have saved someone’s life. That was an easy decision for me.”

Jack Wallace ’23 and Rob Wallace.

Jack Wallace ’23 and Rob Wallace.

Coach Andy Waddle and Jack Wallace ’23

Coach Andy Waddle and Jack Wallace ’23

Students honor MLK with a history lesson

Alayna Francis ’26 and members of her group stood before a crowd of about 75 students, employees, and community members to describe what life was like for Black people in America during the Post-Reconstruction Era.

In October, Francis was among 33 students who visited Montgomery and Selma, Alabama, to learn about Black slavery and the Civil Rights Movement. In January, the students created presentations to share with campus and the community as part of a special Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. The educational program focused on the period of Black slavery, freedom movements, Reconstruction, Post-Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Era, and the Post-Civil Rights Era.

“It feels powerful and special that we are given the opportunity to do something like this,” Francis says. “Our past is difficult for people to learn and talk about, but it’s important that we do it. It’s important that we share what we know, and we learned a lot during our trip.”

Following the students’ presentations was a moment of silence and community member Karen Miller singing “Amazing Grace.” Keynote speaker Dr. Denise Lewis connected virtually to talk about mental health access for people of color — focusing on areas such as racial disparity, racism trauma and mental health, high-functioning depression, where to turn to for help, and the “5 to Thrive Mental Health Checklist for College Students.”

“The theme for 2023 was ‘Together We can be the Dream.’ ” says Tony Mayle, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Marietta. “This theme corresponded with the students that attended our fall trip, Exploring Black Slavery-1619 through the Present. These students discussed their experiences from the trip and how these experiences will reshape their lives.”

Students gave guided tours of campus, showing the former Black Student Union and other sites that related to the campus’ Black history. Afternoon breakout sessions from community members and a staff member touched on topics such as African American beauty and haircare, the importance of religion and spirituality, healthcare disparities for People of Color, race, sport and the African American experience, an Intro to Certified Peer Educator Class, and a Seeing White podcast discussion.

“The Marietta College Office of Diversity, Student Life, Office of Community Engagement, and Education Abroad departments decided to focus on a student-led educational event for 2023 to allow the Marietta College and local communities to learn more about the histories, struggles, and barriers for People of Color in the United States,” Mayle says. “Dr. King once said ‘we must learn to live together as brothers or perish as fools.’ Our offices decided to focus on education due to the fact that many are not aware of other cultures around them. We are one village, and we must be able to learn from each other.”

Real connection, real impact

McDonough’s Nulton volunteering with special program designed to help veterans

After bravely serving 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, Jason Nulton wanted to share his vast experience in the classroom.

He is in his sixth year of teaching and his first as the Community Engagement Coordinator at Marietta College, where Nulton teaches courses in Theories & Models of Leadership and Organizational Leadership. Now he is making a different, yet meaningful, connection with other veterans through a program at Marshall University — Testament: Recovering Identity after War.

Instead of the classroom, Nulton is helping lead veteran discussion groups on weekends.

“We use ancient literature about wars, and the veterans learn they are not alone, and the impact of war on humans hasn’t changed much in 2,000 years,” Nulton says. “When they read a passage from Lucan’s Civil War about a soldier who fought in the conflict between Nero and Pompey, they learn that those soldiers were scared, watched their friends die, and the experience wasn’t much different than what modern vets have experienced more recently.”

The program is in its second year and was started by Marshall’s Dr. Robin Riner, Professor of Anthropology, and Dr. Christina Franzen, Professor of Classics.

“The veterans really connect with the texts,” Riner says. “It makes them realize their experiences are not unique to them. So, it makes them feel less alone.”

Riner is proud of what has been accomplished, and she and Franzen plan to maintain it if they continue to receive funding. She says “Testament” is designed to help veterans and their families feel comfortable discussing their trauma and recovery by reading and discussing past and reading old texts on war.

Riner has also noticed that group leaders like Nulton are benefitting from the program.

Nulton, a retired Lieutenant Colonel, agrees.

“It is therapeutic for me as well. It’s a well-done program,” he says. “When you come home from war and you must cope with some of the aftermath, and that can be a very solitary feeling. … I never did any group therapy before, but getting into this group has been good. The No. 1 reason I think it works so well is we are putting veterans with veterans, and we understand each other’s language. There are some synergies there.”

Nulton completed nine active-duty assignments, held numerous leadership positions, and completed tours of duty on four continents. He served in deployed locations in the Balkans, Africa, the Persian Gulf, Levant, and Afghanistan and retired in July 2015 from the Pentagon.

“The discussion leaders want to give back and help other veterans,” Riner says. “That is something of the value they are getting out of it.”

In recent weeks, Nulton has engaged with as many as 10 veterans during a Saturday session in Huntington, West Virginia.

“There are three other veteran discussion leaders like me. One of them was in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the other two are Vietnam veterans,” Nulton says. “I must admit I was a little concerned at first asking war veterans to read texts that use such graphic language. But I have watched and learned that you gain some comfort in knowing that other people who had similar experiences hundreds and thousands of years ago have come and gone before you, and they survived.”

A native of Gaithersburg, Maryland, Nulton lives in Parkersburg, West Virginia. He is actively working to bring an ROTC program to Marietta’s campus, as well as gain the Ohio Purple Star status for the College. The Purple Star Award recognizes schools that show a significant commitment to students and families connected to our nation’s military.

“I am focused on creating a chapter of the Student Veterans of America, which is something we must have before we can become an Ohio Purple Star campus,” Nulton says.

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