The Big Question

The Big Question

Auburn Magazine, Big Question, Faculty

The Big Question

Who was your favorite professor or staff member when you were a student at Auburn?

By Kate Asbury Larkin ’21

Who was your favorite professor or staff member when you were a student at Auburn?

Sorry, but I had four favorites: U.S. Army Captain (later Colonel) John Warren, Mrs. Rosemary McGhar, both in Army ROTC, Dr. Harry Philpott, Auburn’s president when I started, and most importantly, his secretary (my mother): Mary McCarty.

Bob McCarty ’82
College of Architecture, Design and Construction

Dr. Kicklighter. I loved his class. I remember one quarter during finals all of campus lost power due to a squirrel getting in the main transformer. Instead of rescheduling our final, Dr. Kicklighter marched all of us out of Haley Center and into the stadium to take our final. We took our final in the bleachers with the grounds crew mowing the field and “Brown Eyed Girl” playing somewhere on campus for all to hear.

Beth Carson Sydell ’99
Harbert College of Business

Jack Simms and Mickey Logue

Jack Simms, journalism department. Believed in me as a female sportswriter in 1978 (I graduated in March that year) and provided encouragement and constructive criticism during my rookie years at the Opelika-Auburn News. Mickey Logue is a close second as a journalism mentor.

Pat McArthur Booker ’78
College of Liberal Arts

Dr. James Brown, a.k.a. “Mr. Pop Quiz Man.” No one will ever forget sitting in Langdon Hall for his classes!

Mandy C. Speirs ’05
College of Liberal Arts

Hands down, Dr. Hardy, Ag Law! What other professor takes their students to a Braves game and to get a hotdog at The Varsity? He was amazing!!

Brandi Jones ’99
College of Agriculture

Dr. Mary Ann Potter in the College of Human Sciences. She focused on what life would be like once we were working in the field of interior design, she encouraged us to join professional societies and she kept up with us after we graduated.

Susan Bell Pendleton ’76
College of Human Sciences

Dr. Kicklighter. I loved his class. I remember one quarter during finals all of campus lost power due to a squirrel getting in the main transformer. Instead of rescheduling our final, Dr. Kicklighter marched all of us out of Haley Center and into the stadium to take our final. We took our final in the bleachers with the grounds crew mowing the field and “Brown Eyed Girl” playing somewhere on campus for all to hear.

Beth Carson Sydell ’99
Harbert College of Business

Captain Callan, aviation management courses, an ace Navy pilot and a man that cared that you understood and learned and that your life turned out well. I was also his work-study student helping him organize lectures. A good man.

Andrea Crawford ’86
Samuel Ginn College of Engineering

Bodie Hinton, AU band director and head of the music department. He loved his band members and students and memorized their names. He taught more than music and marching through his encouragement for us to be our best. I always remember how he believed in me.

W. Larry Hunt ’70
Harbert College of Business

Dr. A. J. Hill in accounting and Jude Robinson in math. This was in the early ’60s. Mr. Robinson wrote on the board with his right hand and erased with his left as he wrote. Note taking was fun! Dr. Hill was just a fabulous teacher in every way. Those were the days of accounting with machines with handles.

Kitty Fairleigh Allen ’63
College of Education

Dr. Donald Graves. He absolutely loved teaching and it showed. Every day. As a first-year teacher, I tried to model my teaching persona after him.

Jeanne Lazzari ’88
College of Education

Dr. Bridgett A. King

Dr. Bridgett A. King taught each of her students to be in command of every room they enter. She reminded us that our history is also our present moment, so to live every day to make an impact.

Bre’a Felise Hilliard ’15
College of Liberal Arts

Dr. David Dyer

Dr. Dyer, he taught us that mechanical engineering could be hot, dirty and dangerous.

Scott Worley ’91
Samuel Ginn College of Engineering

Dr. Frank Arant

Dr. Arant, head of the zoology department. I had worked for three years for the department when he pulled me out of class in the spring of ’72. I was petrified I had done something wrong.

Dr. Arant: Reames, why haven’t you applied to graduate school?
Me: I don’t have the money.
Dr. Arant: Today is the last day to apply to take the GRE. Take it and we’ll see about the money.
Me: But Dr. Arrant, I don’t have the $45 for the application.

Dr. Arant gave me the $45 and I left a Miss Alabama preliminary to take the test. Won the pageant and received a full fellowship for graduate school due to my scores. Thank you Dr. Arant from a snake-handling, bug-catching, mammal-loving beauty queen.

Eugenia Reames Hale ’72
College of Agriculture

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The Big Question

The Big Question

Alumni Stories, Auburn Magazine, Big Question, Campus

The Big Question

What is your earliest memory of attending an Auburn football game?

By Kate Asbury Larkin ’21

The Big Question Header image

Answer our Big Question for a chance to have your answer appear in the 2023 issue of Auburn Magazine. High-resolution photos are encouraged.

Answer the Big Question here
“Nov. 18, 1978, Auburn/UGA game in Jordan-Hare. Auburn tied a top-10 UGA team 22-22 while wearing orange jerseys. It was an awesome game and had me hooked on Auburn. War Eagle!!”
James Martin ’89
“I attended my first Auburn football game at Jordan-Hare
Stadium in 1986 with my grandfather Deryl Seifried.”
Jonathan Seifried ’04
“It was 1987, Auburn vs. Florida at Jordan- Hare. Emmitt Smith was a freshman at Florida. Auburn won and Emmitt was in tears under the Auburn goalpost. Fireworks were everywhere. I was sold all in on Auburn. I enrolled
at Auburn the next fall.”

Mark Sobel-Sorrell ’91

“My dad took me to Athens to see Pat Sullivan and the Tigers beat the damn Dawgs, and that performance sealed the Heisman trophy!”
Wade Moore ’80
“In 2000, celebrating a victory over Georgia at Toomer’s Corner with (left) Amity Neighbors ’04 and (right) Melanie Russell ’01.”
Erin Sloan ’04
bowl of tortellini
“I started going to Auburn football games when I was little. We went to every home game as well as a couple away games. Early memories of going out on the field to watch the majorettes after the game come out and twirl (I went on to be a 4-year member of the AUMB but on an instrument instead of as a majorette).”
Traci Ash ’83
“In ninth grade, I moved to Alabama from Washington State so my first football game was my freshman year as a student and the energy of the student section was unlike anything I had ever been a part of. I stood the entire game and now when I go to the games with my family, I always remember my days in the student section.”
Jeffrey Ioimo ’08
AU Gingerbread house graphic
“Tailgating as a young boy with my dad out of the trunk of his car beside Thach Hall. In the mid to late ’70s. Throwing a football, eating sandwiches and walking around campus. And watching Joe Cribbs, James Brooks and William Andrews play in the same backfield.”
Art Guin ’92
“Auburn vs. Florida, 1969. I sat on the front row in the north end zone. Got a chin strap from an AU player after the game!”
Bill Stone ’85
“LSU at Auburn, 1972. Very cold. Pouring rain! We stepped into 32-gallon trash bags to keep the rain out of our shoes and to help keep us warm.”
Katherine Thrasher ’79
“The first Auburn- Alabama game attended was in Birmingham. Auburn won! 17 to 16! Need I say more?”
Theresa Dunn ’80
4 women kneeling around a yellow table
“My first in-person Auburn football game was in an Auburn band uniform. I was never really interested in football. I just loved playing in the band. That game changed my feelings about football forever. Being at Jordan-Hare with all the excitement of being a part of the Auburn Family and playing in the stands and the field made me realize how fun being a football fan could be.”
Nanette Arata ’86
“Justin Davis was my favorite Camp War Eagle counselor, and he used to always check on me when school started. I ran into him waiting for the gates to open for the season opener that year. My first football game at Auburn is an experience I will never forget!”
Gabrielle Brundidge ’13
drawing of a RV
 

“1982 Iron Bowl played on Legion Field. Auburn beat Bama 23-22. Bear Bryant’s last Iron Bowl game. Crowd rushed the field and tore down the goalpost. WAR EAGLE!”
Lisa Tolar ’93

“At age three, sitting in my dad’s lap at a game when Travis Tidwell was the quarterback, circa 1949!”
Patricia Gleason ’74
bowl of tortellini
Chad Jones ’99, L-R Elizabeth, Grayson, Harrison, Benjamin
“Earliest for me was when I was a freshman at Auburn. It was the late ’80s and the tailgate was like nothing I had ever experienced. People were beyond welcoming and friendly; it was like one huge family reunion where everyone welcomed you!”
Richard Miller ’94

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Holiday Tradition: The Big Question

Holiday Tradition: The Big Question

Alumni Stories, Auburn Magazine, Big Question

Holiday Tradition: The Big Question

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

By Kate Asbury Larkin ’21

Big Question header

“We always let the kids open one present on Christmas Eve and it’s usually matching PJs.”

MARY ’10 AND DANIEL GAINOR ’09

My great-uncle and I build and decorate a gingerbread house together every year. It is the highlight of my Christmas season and he enjoys it as well!”

ANNA NELSON ’17

drawing of a RV

“Ready the motorhome for a trip to Disney or Dollywood for Christmas.”

KEN HAMMETT ’64

“Going to our church’s candlelight service and then coming home to a tortellini dinner.”

DONNA PRITCHETT ’20

bowl of tortellini
4 women kneeling around a yellow table

“My family’s favorite holiday tradition is meeting at DeSoto State Park for Thanksgiving. My grandparents lived in Fort Payne, Ala. and as the family grew the overflow started staying at DeSoto. My grandmother died in 2000 and now 20-plus years later my family still goes to DeSoto for Thanksgiving. We rent lodge rooms and cabins and have a wonderful time hiking the trails, eating at their beautiful lodge and building campfires, etc. Since we have a few that went to that other school, we make sure to split up before the Iron Bowl!”

SUSAN BELL PENDLETON ’76

“As a family with a 5-year-old and a baby, we are still feeling out our own traditions. We’re fortunate to host our family’s Thanksgiving. My in-laws
and my parents come over for a meal prepared by all. It may not seem like the most exciting ‘tradition’ per se, but to have both sides of our family come together to celebrate is a blessing. And as a house divided, I’ll always cherish any extra Auburn influence over my children from my mom, Diane Hines ’76.”

KATIE BROWN ’09

AU Gingerbread house graphic

“I started a Christmas Eve tradition with my own now-adult children of letting them open a Christmas ornament (or the like) that has the year and their initials/name on it (even if I wrote it on the bottom myself). They loved seeing them every year when it came time to decorate. And when they got married, they got to take their personal collection so they had ornaments/decor to start with. They still get them and now I also have the same tradition for the six grandchildren! Needless to say, there are a few Auburn-themed ones in the mix!”

ELIZABETH PONDER ’83

“My kids bake a cake on Christmas Eve and then we sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Jesus on Christmas morning before opening any presents!”
OLIVIA BRADFORD ’12
chocolate cake with sprinkles

“Throughout the year we keep a jar on our kitchen island, along with paper and pen, and each person in the family can write down ‘small memories/wins/ happies’ throughout the year and add to the jar. On New Year’s Eve, we sit down with bubbly (fruit cocktail for the kiddos) and take turns pulling memories from the jar and recalling our happy times from the year.”

DENISE HAYNES ’91

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Campus Concerts – The Big Question

Campus Concerts – The Big Question

Alumni Stories, Auburn Magazine, Big Question, Campus

Campus Concerts – The Big Question

What was your favorite concert you attended while a student at Auburn?

By Kate Asbury Larkin ’21

“Elton John!! I knew every song on the “Yellow Brick Road” album and it was a blast to sing along! He puts on a fabulous show!!”

Nancy Young ’77

“The Rolling Stones (Nov. 14, 1969).”

R. Stephen  Cooper ’68

“Elvis Presley at Memorial Coliseum in the early 1970s. He was fabulous!!”

Thomas Johnson ’78

“I think one of the best concerts I attended at Auburn was the Commodores in their prime! Given that they were from Tuskegee right down the road, the concert attendees were a great mix of Auburn and Tuskegee students, almost all of whom knew the words to every Commodores song and we sang along at the top of our lungs. And of course, the fabulous outfits worn by the band were the best in late ’70s/early ’80s glittery disco!”

Becky Liner ’81

The Commodores

Jimmy Buffett Poster

“When I was a freshman (fall 1985), Jimmy Buffett came to the arena to perform for Homecoming week. He told stories about being at Auburn, not even knowing where the library was and what good times he had on campus. It was a great concert with lots of new friends and a look into what my Auburn experience would be like: great friends and great times and a lifetime of memories.”

Deirdre Hill ’89

“Tim McGraw and Faith Hill but man do I wish I had gone to Willie Nelson! What in the world was I thinking skipping that one?!”

Alison Eisiminger ’00

Lynyrd Skynyrd

“The best concert for me was the Eagles in 1981. One of my all-time favorite bands—ever! However, my date decided that he would make the concert a better experience for me by singing along with the Eagles in my ear—off tune!!! I dealt with it until my favorite song, ‘Already Gone’ started. I told my date that I was trying to listen to the music—not him—and could he please stop. Needless to say, we broke up almost immediately.”

Betty Steger-Moulton ’82
Neil Diamond on stage singing

Neil Diamond

“James Taylor! He came out on stage alone, no backup musicians or singers, and played and sang for an hour and a half with no intermission. It was AUsome!”

Lillian Quattlebaum ’78

James Taylor strumming his guitar on stage while singing into microphone

Neil Diamond

Lionel Richie on stage singing with microphone in his right hand

Lionel Richie

“Eagles 2/1/80. Had a date with my future wife.”

Christopher Butterworth ’81

“The Beach Boys came to Auburn March 31, 1972. I had turned 21 on the 28th so it was a birthday celebration weekend! What great memories singing along to all my favorites!”

Lillian Quattlebaum ’78

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