In recognizing the thousands of women who played varsity sports over the years, Appalachian honored the trailblazers of women’s intercollegiate varsity sports with a ceremony on Friday, Sept. 21. The ceremony was for the current and former student-athletes in women’s field hockey, track and field, cross country, volleyball, soccer, tennis, golf, basketball, softball, cheer and the discontinued varsity sports of gymnastics, swimming and rifle.

Appalachian State’s athletic department celebrated 50 years of women’s athletics at the university on Sept. 21 with the Appalachian Trailblazers dinner. The first program founded was the field hockey team, but the team did not grab all of the early milestones. Carol Almond can attest to that.

Dr. Rachel L. Smith, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Appalachian, studies the birth of stars to better understand the origins of life on Earth, and perhaps elsewhere in the universe.

Hurricane Florence threatened areas far inland — including Appalachia — with landslides and other perilous effects. But people keep building in the mountains, apparently unfazed. “Early people, they were living away from streams and up on flat lands,” according to Dr. Ellen Cowen. “They weren’t the best views, but they were the safest to be. But now there’s nowhere to go, so the slopes have been cut.”

Hugo “came right over my house,” says Brock Long ’97 ’99, who grew up in Newton, N.C. The FEMA administrator, and Appalachian alumnus, says Hurricane Florence may be even more dangerous.

Abundant August rains shouldn't have an impact on fall leaves showing their colors in western North Carolina, according to a university professor. Appalachian State University professor Howard Neufeld said it's an old wives' tale that if you get a lot of rainfall in the summer it dilutes the fall color, the Asheville Citizen Times reports.

Appalachian State athletics is enveloped in change right now. Some of those changes are coming right away, and some will start to form in the near future. The waves of development require athletics director Doug Gillin to view progress through many different scopes.

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.

Cafe Appalachia, in South Charleston, W.Va., is just as innovative, as the menu is delicious. With a pay what you can, farm to table, format, the open kitchen is staffed with folks who are recovering from addiction. Cheryl Laws modeled the cafe after one that she spent much of her time in while she was getting her master’s degree from Appalachian State University.