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Roberts Awards 2021 Alumni of the Year Honors
Each year, we honor alumni who make a significant impact on their community and profession. The alumni chosen for these awards are recognized for their professional excellence, service to community, and lifestyle that promotes the spirit and mission of Roberts Wesleyan College. Our award honorees represent the best of a Roberts education and experience and the thousands of Roberts Wesleyan College alumni who are making a difference and providing leadership in our world and culture.
2021 Alumna of the Year | Bethany Welch '00 (Communication and Studio Art/Graphic Design)
Bethany Welch'00 (Communication and Studio Art/Graphic Design) is the 2021 Alumna of the Year. Welch is the Justice and Peace Fellow, Conference of Major Superiors of Men. Dr. Welch currently works both internationally and nationally, providing the U.S. Roman Catholic religious orders (some 16,000 priests and brothers) with advocacy and education resources on social-justice issues that impact the most vulnerable.
After Roberts, Welch completed a M.S. in Higher Education Administration at the University of Rochester, a PhD in urban affairs & public policy from the University of Delaware and a LaSalle University certificate in nonprofit management.
For years, she brought hope, support, and artistic beauty to Philadelphia’s impoverished, connecting her deepening Roman Catholic faith with her service calling—and establishing The Aquinas Center. In recent years, Bethany has lectured and traveled widely, personally accompanying Latin Americans dealing with borders and destitution.
As an undergraduate student, she never met an opportunity she could pass up: in academics, internships, dinner-discussions with guest lecturers in our wide-ranging lecture series, campus organizations, and overseas travel. For four years, she thrived personally and academically within our Honors Program community—and beyond. Serving in many Student Association capacities, including
SA President, she honed communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills. A
Here are a few reflections on Welch:
Dr. Landrum noted his “profound respect for her kindness, maturity, work ethic, generous spirit, caring nature, and visionary perspective on her calling as servant and healer.”
Dr. Cullum described her as “a word-smith whose artistry is forged in the name of justice, peace-making, and compassion .
And what’s next for the Roberts student who taught us even as she was learning? Having become a candidate with the Sisters of St. Joseph in Philadelphia, she now anticipates entering the novitiate in early 2022—to follow the call of devotion to: “God, prayer, living in community, and assisting the poor.”
2021 Alumnus of the Year | Randy Barker ‘91 (Bachelor of Arts, Communication)
Randy Barker ‘91 (Bachelor of Arts, Communication) is the 2021 Alumnus of the Year. Baker is the President and COO of Selectis Health and was appointed to the Board of Directors. Selectis Health owns and operates healthcare facilities in Georgia, Ohio, Arkansas. and Oklahoma. Prior to that, he became Co-Founder, Partner, and COO of Miller & Associates and Dedo Interactive. Most of their clients were Fortune 500 Companies like American Airlines, Adobe, Deloitte, Fannie Mae, Neiman Marcus, Pizza Hut, Verizon, Procter & Gamble, Northrop Grumman, and the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The companies eventually grew to encompass two offices and employed 114 people.
Barker has expressed his faith through his missions activities that include supporting a Christian school in Nicaragua with over 300 students and an orphanage in Kenya with over 30 children. He and his wife are helping to build a new facility in Kenya that will provide a larger and safer environment for the children.
Here are a few quotes from those who knew Barker while he was at Roberts:
"As his professor, I don't recall making Randy happy, but I do recall being convinced that behind his seeming indifference, there was great potential and a spark of interest just waiting to be ignited." --Dr. Elvera Berry
“I remember Randy as a person with a winning smile, diverse interests, and a big heart. Even in college, Randy showed an ability to help bring creative solutions to real problems. Roberts has chosen well.” --Dr. LeRoy Kettinger
Barker lives in McKinney, Texas.
2021 Young Alumnus of the Year | Brian Towner ’03 (Bachelor of Science, Math)
Brian Towner ’03 (Bachelor of Science, Math) is the 2021 Roberts Wesleyan College Young Alumnus of the Year. Towner went on to complete a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2005.
Towner is a Structural Analyst at Northrop Grumman where he takes the lead on structural analysis working on the design and analysis of space payloads. He has also worked on Mission Systems focusing on airborne, seaboard, and land-based radar systems. Some more well-known platforms supported include F-16, and F-35 (Joint Strike Fighter) aircraft.
Brian has authored articles including, “Chassis Finite Element Modeling Guidelines for Space Hardware.” He filed a patent application for “Robust Interconnect Solution for High Mechanical Stress Flex Applications,” and he has received multiple awards on specific programs for personal or team high performance.
While at Roberts Brian was in the 3-2 program with RIT. Towner was inspired and influenced by many of his faculty, but especially Dr. Phil Ogden, Professor of Physics. Dr. Ogden was an example of an intelligent, humble, Christian person and Christian scientist. He instilled excitement and wonder when it came to physics. Dr. Ogden remembers Brian as, “A very good student who took several physics courses from me. He was always dependable and helpful, and the kind of student who is a joy to have in class.”
The Towners reside just outside of Baltimore, Maryland where they are involved in their local church and volunteering in the community. Brian has worked with Baltimore Sandtown Habitat for Humanity, New Life Furniture Warehouse, and has volunteered at First Fruit Farms.