#SoaringEagles step up to the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the lives of the citizens of our country and the world. It has also shown the resilience of the American people as they have stepped up in ways both big and small to help people get through this unprecedented event.   

Morehead State University is proud to say that many MSU graduates are among those who are working hard to help during this difficult time. We believe they deserve our admiration and our recognition.   

Below is a list of #SoaringEagles that are genuinely making a difference.  

• Amanda Adkins-Blair (15) is a pharmacist who continues to sacrifice and serve the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic.  
• Amanda Adkins LeRoy (03) is working on the front lines fighting COVID-19 as a respiratory therapist at Saint Joseph-East hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.   
• Ashley Adkins (11) is working as legal counsel on the senatorial campaign of Amy McGrath. She has been appointed to the Council on Women by Gov. Andy Beshear. She was the assistant Rowan County Attorney and served as the chair of the Democratic Party of Rowan County. She was instrumental in bringing a grant to Rowan County for Casey’s Law to help families and those addicted.   
• Amanda Alford (18) is a bank customer service leader working long hours ensuring customers have access to their money and can apply for important small business loans.  
• Dr. Kayla Alford (13) has been practicing rural health dentistry for two years and is currently providing service to her patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.   
• Amy Lea Amburgey-Evans (17) is a registered nurse currently working at the Lexington Veterans Affairs emergency department while working shifts at St. Claire Regional Medical Center in the emergency department.   
• Tonya Aslinger (92) is a mammographer and X-ray technician taking care of women with a variety of issues.  
• Dr. Aaron Parker Banks (09) specializes in obstetrics at St. Claire Regional Family Medicine in Sandy Hook. Banks sincerely cares about the practice of medicine, his patients and his community.   
• Lauren Michelle Bauer (19) works the front lines as an RN in the emergency department during the current COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Stephanie Benner-Perry (Beatty) (12) is a mother of two that makes it a priority to put others in front of herself. She is working full-time as a registered nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic on the front lines providing care to new mothers and infants.    
• Matthew Boggs (10) is a clinical pharmacist willing to help the people in his community. He not only helps his patients receive the medicine they need every day, but he also serves as a volunteer firefighter.   
• Robert Boone (14) is president is CEO of the South Central Workforce Development Board in Bowling Green. He has led a statewide initiative to use web-based technology to provide virtual career services to individuals impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.   
• Beth McIntosh Bowling (19) is a respiratory therapist working on the frontline at Clark Regional Medical Center in Winchester.   
• James Bradley (12) is caring for critically ill patients in the ICUs at the University of Louisville Hospital in Louisville. The COVID-19 pandemic solidified his passion to pursue a fellowship in pulmonary critical care. This past year, he lost more than 80 pounds so that he could serve in the Army as a medical doctor.   
• Danielle Bramlage (04) continues her dedication to the educational success of her first-grade students. She began a storybook channel on YouTube and has shared that channel publicly. She works hard to support parents while they teach her lesson plans and records each day’s lesson from her living room.   
• Leon Buchanan (09) is currently serving his community as a Lexington Police Officer. He is working the front lines every day to keep his community safe.  
• April Butler (10) is a nurse at the University of Kentucky, where she has been on the front lines during the fight against COVID-19. She’s done a rotation on the floor of positive COVID-19 patients, all while being a mother to a six-month-old girl. She puts others needs first and does what is needed to help provide medical treatment.   
• Mark (19) and Sarah (19) Campbell are both nurses at St. Claire HealthCare. Mark and Sarah feel they must lovingly take care of their patients, especially during this time.   
• Destany Lashea Cantrell (19) is working as a radiologic technologist at St. Claire HealthCare. She is working tirelessly and maintaining vigilance during this crisis to help those in need.   
• Dr. Michael Blake Cantrell (06) has dedicated his time to serving Magoffin and Morgan counties as a member of the rescue squad as a firefighter, the pharmacist for Appalachian Regional Hospital in Morgan County and is also the deputy jailer.  
• Abbi Chandler (16, 19) is a registered nurse with the University of Kentucky (UK) HealthCare during the COVID-19 pandemic.    
• Tara Age Clayburn (02, 06) is in her 12th year at The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C., She is a dedicated member of the music faculty and teaches kindergarten through third grade Grade Orff Schulwerk classes and third-grade chorus.  
• Heather Cecil (11) is a respiratory therapist who has worked many hours and as many as 19 consecutive days taking care of COVID-19 patients.   
• Brittany Click (08, 10) is working on the Navajo reservation in Chinle, Arizona. She cares for the native American population, many of whom have health disparities. The COVID-19 infection rate is very high in this area and Click chose to leave her children in Kentucky to reduce their chances of contracting the virus. She shows continued dedication to her mission of caring for impoverished people. 
• Gary J. Collins (02) works daily as a housing and financial counselor to help ensure others have access to some of the most vital necessities they need – home and utilities. With the recent unemployment and underemployment that has resulted from COVID-19 changes, Collins has worked even harder to serve those in need. Additionally, he is an ordained minister and the director of the Sunday school/youth ministry at his church. He has conducted a virtual Sunday school class each Sunday, reaching over 1,000 people a week from his dining room table in Letcher County, Kentucky. 
• Tabitha Coomes-Johnson (06) is conducting ultrasounds at the University of Louisville Hospital in Louisville.  
• Latoshia Crace (15) works as a hospice nurse providing compassionate care during this pandemic with Bluegrass Care Navigators in Lexington. 
• Amy Cryder (12) is a pre-K teacher working in a Pandemic Child Care Center in Chillicothe, Ohio. She has been helping watch kids of doctors, nurses and other essential workers during this pandemic. 
• Dawna DeVore (96) is a registered nurse that serves as a labor and delivery nurse at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Edgewood during the COVID-19 pandemic.  
• Franklin R. DeWar III (04) helps provide uninterrupted mail and passport services around Cincinnati, Ohio, as a postmaster during the COVID-19 epidemic. DeWar is in his 16th year with the United States Postal Service. He has served communities in multiple states, including Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and the big island of Hawaii.   
• Dr. Catrinia Druen (06) is at St. Claire HealthCare in Morehead. In addition to her regular duties serving the community, she is helping to expand telemedicine and covering emergency room shifts.   
• Bradley Evans (99) is a CT/MRI Technologist at Pikeville Medical Center in Pikeville. He is tasked with scanning COVID-19 patients.   
• Lindsay Fisher-Weddington (13) is a registered nurse at Mercy Health, The Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio.    
• Lauren Flannery Ellis (13) performs MRIs and CT scans at Mercy Health–The Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. With the spread of COVID-19, she is prepared to assist and implement the additional CT scans needed.   
• Tiffany Fletcher (12) is a pharmacist in East Tennessee. She works hard to make sure that her patients are still provided with the care that they deserve during these trying times.  
• Jeff Flora (92) has been working as a pharmacist for over 20 years and serving the front lines of a chain pharmacy since the COVID-19 pandemic began.  
• Jeannie Francis Patrick (11) is an oncology pharmacist in Lexington who continues to provide care for her patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.   
• Whitney Frizzell Franks (06) works at St. Joseph East in Lexington, Kentucky in the NICU. Franks and her co-workers are dedicated to making sure that the smallest and most vulnerable patients are taken care of until they are strong enough and well enough to go home with their parents. 
• Carlie Fyffe (11) volunteered to stay and work at King’s Daughters Medical Center in Ashland so that her co-workers could stay home with their children during the COVID-19 pandemic.  
• Ashleigh Gasparac (05) has worked for the University of Kentucky Hospital for approximately 18 years. She has also worked additional hours for St. Joseph East Hospital in Lexington, St. Claire HealthCare in Morehead and Clark Regional Medical Center in Winchester, as well as a weight loss clinic in Winchester. She previously oversaw four labs in MSU’s CHER Building.  
• Chelsea Gozzard (16) is currently working at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in the ICU and COVID-19 units.   
• Daniel Tyler Green (11) is currently working on the front lines at Franciscan Health Olympia Fields just outside Chicago, Illinois. He spends his shifts performing X-rays on patients, many of whom have COVID-19.  
• Brandi Hatfield (19) is an RN at Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington. Despite being a wife, mother and expecting a second child, she never misses a day of work.  
• Dr. William Brian Helton (01) is keeping his patients safe utilizing telehealth visits. Helton has also been available in his multiple clinics in addition to performing emergency surgery.   
• Chelsea Hunley (19) works on the medical surge unit at CHI Saint Joseph in Mt. Sterling caring for multiple patients a day.  
• Emily Jones-Gray (03) is the administrator and CEO of Mountain Manor, a 126-bed long-term care facility in Paintsville. She leads a team of employees to care for some our state’s most vulnerable elders.  
• Leeza Kyle Hudson (15) is a licensed professional clinical associate working for Kentucky River Community Care during this COVID-19 pandemic. Hudson is assisting children and adolescents in the Kentucky River region battling mental health issues.  
• Brittany Kellum (11) has been working full-time on the front lines as a rapid response nurse at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington. She has been working overtime to help take care of her patients while completing her doctorate.  
• Shane Kennard (17) is working the front lines in the emergency department at Highlands ARH Regional Medical Center in Floyd County.  
• Dana Kerns (98) She is a hardworking and caring chiropractor who is always there to lend a helping hand.  
• Heather Lee (05) is a children’s services outreach librarian. She has been making online story time videos for elementary-aged children every weekday for the past two months while students are at home. She has worked hard to provide a variety of books that students will enjoy and is always ready to help the community any way she can and is constantly thinking of new ways to reach students during this hard time. The videos can be found on the Jessamine County Public Library’s YouTube page. 
• Jennifer Ann Lyon (11) has worked at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Huntington, West Virginia, since 2012. She works hard every day helping patients get the care they need with home health, nursing home and rehab placement, home IV antibiotics and more.   
• Daniel McCarty (12) went on to the University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine to complete his osteopathic medical degree. He is completing his third year of residency in internal medicine at a program in Largo, Florida. As a leader and senior resident, McCarty volunteered for a COVID hospitalist team responsible for admitting patients with respiratory complaints who may be infected with the virus.  
• Harold Kiefer McCarty (17) is currently working on the front lines in the COVID-19 unit at Baptist Health Hospital in Louisville.   
• Chris McClurg (97) is the CFO at St. Claire HealthCare in Morehead. He has worked long hours during the COVID-19 pandemic.  
• Lindsay McGlone Seeker (attended MSU in 2006), the center manager at Elizabethtown Head Start, reads a nightly bedtime story to her preschoolers so they can stay connected.   
• Mara Ann McKinney (06) is an echovascular ultrasound technologist at Pikeville Medical Center in Pikeville. She has been working every day during COVID-19 to ensure that her patients, both adult and pediatric, receive their echo and/or vascular ultrasounds to aide their physicians in a proper diagnosis or to help their physicians prepare them for a lifesaving heart procedure and/or surgery.   
• Courtney McKnight (19) is a registered nurse (RN) at the Kentucky River Medical Center working the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.   
• Martha “Katie” Martin (13) is a registered respiratory therapist (RT) who is working on the front lines of the COVID epidemic. Not only is she helping to save lives as an RT at the Lexington, Virginia, but she is also currently a second-year physician assistant (PA) student at the University of Kentucky. 
• Regina Miller Eldridge (10) is an occupational therapist that plans and conducts individualized therapy at a skilled nursing facility in Eastern Kentucky and continues to treat and serve patients.  
• Victoria Lakan Montgomery (10) is a registered nurse serving Eastern Kentucky working at Appalachian Regional Healthcare in Morgan County.  
• Jordan Moore (19) is an RN working on the front lines of COVID-19 pandemic in the ICU of Southern Ohio Medical Center in Portsmouth, Ohio.  
• Wyatt Muncy (14) is on the front lines helping his homeless community as a day center director at 7Hills Homeless Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas.   
• Dr. Tara Johnson Newsome (01) works long hours on the front lines as a family care physician at the Highlands Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) Clinic in Harold, Kentucky. She is serving her patients in Eastern Kentucky through telemedicine and in-office visits during this pandemic. 
• Laken Nickell (16) works full-time as an RN at Saint Joseph Mount Sterling while also a full-time student in the nurse practitioner program at Eastern Kentucky University. Laken recently won the Daisy Award, an award to recognize extraordinary nurses.   
• Dr. Philip Oliver (07, 09) is a physician in the emergency department at Saint Joseph Hospital in Lexington. He is working the front line in caring for and treating patients from both the COVID-19 virus and other life-threatening illnesses. He is also a member of the new Saint Joseph Health Ethics committee that helps in preparing a plan for the treatment and care of positive COVID-19 patients.    
• Lisa Pauley Colegrove (87) is a clinical assistant working with cancer patients in Ashland, Kentucky, and even during the COVID-19 pandemic, she is preparing patients for treatment, comforting them and celebrating them in their recovery.  
• Jeremy Pecoraro (04) is a gas technician and first responder for San Diego Gas & Electric, where he works 16-hour days, six-to-seven days a week responding to natural gas emergencies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he is going into sick customers’ homes to assure their safety by responding to gas leaks, carbon monoxide illnesses and working on gas appliances that are not functioning correctly.   
• Whitney Morgan Pennington (19) is working as a radiologic technician on the front lines every day at St. Claire HealthCare in Morehead.  
• Mariah Quillen (05), Hattie Kirk (04, 05) and Amanda Whitt (04) are all currently working on the front lines at King’s Daughters Medical Center in Ashland providing ultrasound services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.   
• Sarah Ratliff Abney (04) serves on the front lines as a pharmacist at Joe’s Menifee County Pharmacy in Frenchburg. She works every day to ensure that people have the medicine and medical supplies they need despite the challenges. 
• Staci Grisham Redfern (01) is a perinatal sonographer at HCA Virginia in Midlothian, Virginia. 
• Emilee Redwine (09, 10) is working at St. Claire HealthCare in Morehead conducting diagnostic tests, including sonograms and echocardiograms, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.   
• Corie Roberts (14) works in the MICU at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Her unit cares for those affected with COVID-19. She volunteered for her unit on her days off (without pay) and to give blood to help those affected. 
• Cassie Roe is a member of the MSU Class of 2021 and a nurse extern. She is currently finishing her degree in nursing while working a full-time job and raising three children. 
• Taylor Ruark (20) started working 14-hour shirts at St. Claire HealthCare on Saturday and Sunday while continuing her education to obtain her bachelor’s degree in CT/MRI. She goes into the front lines every day to perform exams on COVID-19 patients.   
• Jennifer Schadle (10) is working as a nurse practitioner on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.   
• Jason Scheiding (10) began his career five years ago because he wanted to make a difference. He serves on the frontline every day and even off-duty and is always ready to help someone in need.   
• Erykah Scott (19) works as a respiratory therapist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical. She works with patients to improve their quality of life with compassion and kindness.   
• Sara Sgantas (15) has worked tirelessly to keep Kenton County citizens informed about COVID-19 and how to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic. 
• Brandy Sheets (06) and Ashten Thompson (18) both work at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. Sheets became lead MRI technologist in 2018 and she hired Thompson in 2018 as an MRI tech. Both Sheets and Thompson still together work together and treat sick patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• Mikayla Sherman (16) works as a registered nurse in the MICU at the University of Kentucky Health Center.    
• Brandi Siggers (07) is an ER nurse fighting on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. She is also attempting to continue her schooling to become a nurse practitioner.   
• Wendy Simpkins (03) is a nurse practitioner and a clinic director at Fast Pace Health in Bardstown. Simpkins is at the forefront of caring for patients affected by COVID-19. In addition to her clinic, she also provides quality care to patients of a homeless shelter in Winchester to ensure care is provided to this vulnerable population.   
• Robin Skaggs-Hale (82) is a nurse at St. Claire HealthCare and caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.    
• Kayla Slusher Lay (10) is a frontline worker as a registered nurse (RN) at the critical care unit The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at MSU and is furthering her education to become a nurse practitioner. 
• Timothy Smallwood (20) is a Master of Arts in Nursing (MSN) student who works as a travel nurse and is on the front lines in New York City caring for COVID-19 patients.
• Paul Lyndon Stepp II (19) currently works for AT&T and helps those who are having service issues stay connected with their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic.   
• Makenzie Smith Class (18) is an RT at Norton Hospital in Louisville doing her part in fighting COVID-19.  
• Drew Spangler (19), an MSU strategic communications graduate, works hard every day at radio station WFTM to promote local businesses and restaurants while updating listeners on sports and local happenings. During COVID-19, he and his fellow workers have become essential in keeping Maysville and the surrounding areas informed. 
• Dr. Heather Spradlin (04) has worked in rural health for 12 years and is currently working through the COVID-19 pandemic.   
• Alyssa Stevens-Sturgill (02) is a choral director at Woodford County Middle School in Versailles and is still inspiring her students during the COVID-19 pandemic.  
• Ashley Swearingen (08) is a supervisory budget analyst for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky. Since the pandemic started, she has conducted temperature checks, tracked special costs incurred and worked with other services to report new hires due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  
• Matthew Tackett (05, 07) leads the Kentucky Association for Economic Development as president and CEO. During COVID-19, he has worked with state government on PPE sourcing, developed a state-wide business retention strategy and is facilitating state-wide investment, education and marketing programs to position Kentucky for growth post-COVID. 
• Kim Patyk Webb (91) is the director for the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky who works work with her local and regional communities as a public health practitioner. Kim was recently selected by the Northern Kentucky Chamberlain of Commerce as a 2020 Outstanding Women of the Year honoree award winner.
• Shelly Weiss (17) started her college career at MSU right out of high school in 1993 on a full scholarship and finished three semesters before joining the U.S. Army Reserves. She served 14 years with the military doing a tour in Iraq. She returned home as a staff sergeant with a bronze star for heroism. She eventually finished her degree while becoming a mother to four children and working full-time at the Lexington Veterans Affairs Hospital as a radiology technologist. She is now employed with CHI St. Joseph of London working every day with radiology patients including COVID-19 patients. 
• Laura White-Brown (11) is leading the city of Morehead in response to COVID-19. As Morehead’s mayor, she has coordinated the response with local schools, the hospital, MSU and county government. She has prepared to take care of Morehead’s most vulnerable by working with nonprofits to ensure the homeless and victims of domestic violence are taken care of during this difficult time. White-Brown has shown what it means to be a leader during this time of crisis.   
• Dr. Ashley M. Wright (13) is working on the front lines at Inspira Health Network in Vineland, New Jersey. She is an obstetrician-gynecologist in a hospital that has dozens of COVID-19 patients. She also has reached out to her friends and family to help her supply her co-workers with needed masks and additional PPE.    

To view all of our #SoaringEagles, follow MSU’s Office of Alumni Relations and Development on Facebook (www.facebook.com/msualumniandfriends/), Twitter (@MSU_AlumniAssn) and Instagram (@msu_alumni). 

Nominate MSU alumni who are #SoaringEagles at alumni.moreheadstate.edu/soaringeagles.