For North Carolina native and Appalachian alumnus Brock Long ’97 ’99, Hurricane Florence is personal. Long, who grew up in Newton, was 14 in 1989 the night Hurricane Hugo swept in, toppling trees and damaging buildings.

For a short time Thursday afternoon, Appalachian State University Chancellor Sheri Everts returned to a familiar scene: a K-12 classroom. Everts stopped by each classroom at Appalachian State University Academy at Middle Fork, handing out books for every student to take home with them. Her visit was meant to be both an opportunity to increase literacy options for students, as well as show the university’s support to those in the elementary school.

Appalachian State University’s freshman class welcomed the mother of a 1998 hate crime victim with a standing ovation at the Aug. 20 Black and Gold Convocation. The new freshman class gathered at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center before the start of the 2018-19 school year — where Judy Shepard served as the event’s keynote speaker.

At the end of her freshman year of college at Appalachian, Kyra Patel became a suicide loss survivor. She knew then she wanted to dedicate her life to helping others, especially college students, so they would know that no matter what they're going through, they are not alone. After graduating from the University of Kentucky College of Public Health in May 2018 with a master's in public health and a graduate certificate in biostatistics, Patel is now back where her passion for student health and wellness began, working as the coordinator of student social wellness at Appalachian State University.

While Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and Eugenie Mukeshimana are from different parts of the world, both women share a commonality — of being a survivor of a genocide. Both women served as speakers on July 25 during the 17th Annual weeklong Martin and Doris Rosen Summer Symposium, presented by Appalachian State University’s Center for Judaic, Holocaust, and Peace Studies.

Last weekend, the weather in Boone was just was it was supposed to be — 10 degrees cooler than Winston-Salem. So some Winston-Salemites headed up U.S. 421 to cool down and enjoy a few of the awesome offerings at Appalachian Summer Festival.

It's a race with no fuel, because the cars are powered by solar energy. Saturday morning teams began their 1,700-mile race, starting at the Lewis and Clark Trail in Omaha. Fourteen solar-powered vehicles race through four states and finish in Omaha. National and international schools compete in the American Solar Challenge with two different classes and a variety of styles and techniques.

Cardiovascular exercise isn't the only exercise that's, well, cardiovascular. In fact, strength training can up your heart health, too. In one Appalachian State University study, people who performed 45 minutes of moderate-intensity resistance exercise lowered their blood pressure by 20 percent.

A study by researchers at The University of Manchester, Columbia University, the Visiting Nurse Service of New York and Appalachian State University has shown that attitudes among community nurses are important for their compliance with infection control practices. The study is published in the American Journal of Infection Control.