Drs. Ken and Marcy (Stewart) Froemke lived 1,200 miles apart until they moved to Bryan College as freshmen, but they didn’t meet at Bryan. Ken graduated in 1967 with a B.S. in Elementary Education the year before Marcy arrived. In 1972, Marcy received her degrees in Music Education and Elementary Education. During her time as a student, she completed a semester of student teaching at Dayton City School where Ken was employed as a history and literature teacher for seventh and eighth graders. While they met at City School rather than college, Bryan was the reason. They have been married 51 years and have one son and two granddaughters. Both remain grateful for all the ways Bryan College favorably impacted their lives.
In 1972, Ken received his M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction at Middle Tennessee State University. After several years at Dayton City School, Ken began work as a counselor at Rhea County High School in 1974. Ken opened the first student counseling office at Bryan in 1978, which he led for ten years. He then joined the teaching faculty in Bryan’s Education Department after completing his D.Phil. degree at Oxford Graduate School. In 1998, Ken became Bryan’s Dean of Instruction and Accreditation Liaison. From 1998-2014, he continued in those roles while coordinating accreditation site visits and serving as a reviewer of on-site visits at fifteen colleges in eight southern states. After retirement in 2014, Ken continued as part-time accreditation consultant at Bryan until 2018.
Marcy received a M.M. in Organ Performance in 1992 from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and an Ed.D. from Trevecca Nazarene University in 2006. Since 1972, she has served as an elementary classroom teacher at Dayton City School and Walden’s Ridge, music teacher for Rhea County elementary schools, private piano teacher, and pianist/organist for local churches. She has served at Bryan College for over 20 years, first as a part-time member of Bryan’s music faculty and finally as full-time faculty in the Education Department. While at Bryan, Marcy served as Faculty Chair and Faculty Secretary for several years. She has also written eleven novels published by two international publishing houses, Zebra Books and Steeple Hill. Marcy retired from Bryan in 2008.
After a lifetime of living in their college town, Ken and Marcy both feel a strong love and gratitude for Bryan College. It has impacted every facet of their lives professionally, personally, and spiritually. Both feel that God led them here and has blessed them abundantly with a beloved lifetime partner, lifelong friendships with fellow students and faculty, a love for learning, strong biblical principles, and a desire to be light in the world. If asked, both would say, “Choose your college well. Those few years will make all the difference in your life.”
Katy Saynes graduated from Bryan College in 2004 with a B.S. in Liberal Arts with Elementary Licensure. She accepted a teaching position at Rhea Central where she taught middle school Math for four years and earned her M. A. in Instructional Leadership from Tennessee Tech in 2006. While coming back to Bryan was never in her future plans, God orchestrated events so that she returned to Bryan to teach in the Education Department in 2008. In 2016, she completed her Ed.D. in Instruction and Curriculum Leadership from Northcentral University. During her time working at Bryan, she has served in a variety of capacities including Education Department Chair, Faculty Chair, Curriculum Committee Chair, and now Dean of Professional Studies and Bryan College Online.
As a student at Bryan, she found a deep love for teaching that has only continued to grow as God has shown her new ways to use this passion. Her desire to be a positive influence in the lives of students was also enhanced through the biblical approach taken at Bryan. Her professors and the Bryan community made her the educator she is today. As a professor and administrator at Bryan, her desire is to see the college succeed in its mission to create servants of Christ by demonstrating servant leadership and to truly place Christ above all.
Katy met her husband Nick in high school, and they have been married for 20 years. Nick has worked for the Chattanooga Fire Department for 19 years and is now a Captain. They enjoy traveling with their two daughters Kayla (17) and Lily (16) who plan to attend Bryan in the very near future.
She believes that the various paths her life has taken are because of God working in her life. From her husband to her first job teaching middle school to the various roles she has had at Bryan, all of it has been about following God’s will even when it wasn’t part of her original plan. She often leans on the book of Esther during times that she’s not quite sure what God has in store for her and her life verse, Colossians 1:29 “For this purpose I also labor, striving according to His power which works mightily in me.”
Paul Boling is a Professor of Philosophy and Christian Thought at Bryan College. He teaches the history of ideas, ethics, and worldviews and has published book reviews in scholarly and popular journals. Dr. Boling is also active in several professional societies, as well as being a published musical composer. In addition to his teaching, Dr. Boling is active in Christian ministry and discipleship, and he speaks at churches, conferences, and retreats. He holds a B.A. in Zoology from the University of California at Berkeley, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, and an M.A. and Ph.D. degree in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He and his wife Lauralee have five children, and nine grandchildren, and live in Dayton, Tennessee. Three of their children are alumni of Bryan College – Michelle (Boling) Silva ’99, Lisanne Boling ’03, and Bryan Boling ’11.
Don Hewlett grew up in a military family, which meant regular moves around the country. While his father was deployed in Vietnam, Don and his siblings started attending a Bible Church in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Don accepted Christ as his Savior. One by one, they all became believers. After graduating high school, Don enrolled at Bryan. He was an RA in his last couple years in the White Chapel dorm and he graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration in 1978.
While at Bryan, Don played baseball and caught every game for four years in both the spring and fall seasons. He was named MVP and received the Golden Glove three times. During his senior year, Don helped Coach Dixon by coordinating baseball practices until the basketball season was over. When volleyball became a varsity sport during his sophomore year, Don served as the first varsity coach for the Women’s Volleyball Team. That year, his team was second in the SCAC Conference, and he was named Co-Coach of the Year as the only student volleyball coach in the conference. The team went to the AIAW Tennessee State tournament in the small college division and finished second. The following year, he was named Coach of the Year when his team won the conference. The team also won the AIAW Tennessee College Championship for small colleges. During his senior year, he became an assistant coach when the College hired its first women’s coach.
After graduation, Don married his college sweetheart, Louise, and they had two sons, Ross and McCoy (Coy). He started his own landscaping business, where he worked for nine years before going to work for a nursery and landscaping company. His next move was to work for a structural steel fabricating company as an estimator (all those accounting courses paid off), and then he moved to a startup company generating construction reports. The company eventually spread into the Southeastern states and was sold, so he moved to Precision Grinding, starting as an estimator/salesman, and moving up to shop manager and a Vice President. Don retired a year and a half ago but continues to work part-time overseeing safety and OSHA compliance. His education at Bryan served him well, and the athletic experiences he had contributed to his management skills in the workplace.
Don has lived in Birmingham, Alabama, since graduating from Bryan. For more than 30 years, he and Louise attended Shades Mountain Church where Mickey Park (former Bryan College Trustee) was pastor. While there he served in many ways, such as Sunday school teacher, nursery volunteer, grounds maintenance, youth group, and deacon. He designed and installed landscaping and a playground that are still in place. More recently, he and Louise have been attending and joined Briarwood Presbyterian Church, a PCA church. Don enjoys his work, woodworking projects, renovating the house, and spending time with his family. He adores his four grandchildren, and attending little league baseball games has taken up most Saturdays during the spring season.
Bryan College is a small, regionally accredited Christian liberal arts college located in Dayton, TN. With both on-campus and online programs, more than 50 areas of study are offered for Associate’s, Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees, as well as professional certificates.
Founded in 1930, Bryan College has a rich legacy of educating students to become servants of Christ and make a difference in today’s world.
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