Page 8 The Clarion October 30, 1989
I
Never a dull moment with these two newlyweds: a bemused Amanda
looks on as Jeff, ever the humorist, displays their “Just Married”
t-shirts and then goes for the Mr. Cool look. (Clarion photos by Jock
Lauterer)
Married with Dorm...
^Battling^ out life at Brevard College
by Lin Redmond
(’.laritm Refinrter
How many women would marry a guy
and be willing to live in a men’s dorm? Not
to mention having the groom leave the
wedding to return straight to his new job
as RD and spend the day checking in
students.
That’s what Amanda Battle did when
she married her hust>and, Jeff, the same
day the ’89-’90 freshman class arrived at
BC.
As BC’s newest couple, the Battles have
joined a growing group of husband and
wife teams here, sharing their work as
well as their personal lives. The Browns,
the Kellys, the Murrays, the Jacksons as
well as Bill Byers and Jo Pumphrey have
almost made a tradition oif married
couples working together at Brevard. With
characteristic faith and humor, Jeff and
Amanda have adjusted comfortably and
have ak^dy benefited the campus.
Jeff served on the planning committee of
the Western North Carolina Leadership
Conference, which was held at UNC-A two
weeks ago. BC was able to participate for
the first time, and, as advisor to SGA, Jeff
gave a presentation on the role of the ad
visor. He also served over the summer a^
Assistant Director of Project Winners,
BC’s high school drop-(Hit prevention pro
gram.
Amanda has been give the opportunity to
serve as Yearbook Advisor, a role she
gained experience in during high school.
The Battles* apartment in Green dorm is
as much like home as any place on a col
lege campus can be. Amanda has
decorated it in peach with lots of ducks and
a country theme. Jeff seems perfectly hap
py amid her fen>inine touches, his one con
tribution being a trout mounted on the wall
as a reminder of his favorite hobby.
The couple are aware that time spent
together must be balanced with time spent
on personal activities. Amanda enjoys
cross stitch and collecting, her favorite
subjecUs being ducks and gnomes. Her ex
tensive collection of gnome figurines sits
like a miniature village on a shelf in the
living room.
Jeff gets away by going fishing and hun
ting, and gives vent to his creative side by
sketching, painting and doing scrimshaw
carving on bone pieces which are used as
iknife handles. He also collects knives and,
at Amanda’s mother’s suggestion, con
fesses, “Yeah, Amanda is my hobby!”
Jeff, who is over six feet tall has a very
distinctive sense of humor which makes
him likely to scare, tickle or otherwise in
flict shock on unsuspecting bystanders. He
got it back at his wedding when two of his
groomsmen flashed him signs hidden in
their lapels which read, “This is your last
chance! Run!” Guests seated in the
reverent sanctuary were puzzled to see the
groom emerge from the wings grinning
hugely and on the verge of cracking up.
When asked how they met, Amanda
laughs and says to Jeff, “I’ll let you tell
that!” Jeff proceeds to tell the story of the
amazing combination video store, tanning
salon and barber shop in Black Mountain
where he first asked Amanda out.
“I thought she was pretty. I just came in
to flirt with the clerk.” The clerk was
Amanda. They went to Lake Julian on a
picnic and the next thing they knew,
friends and family on l)oth sides were urg
ing them to get married.
“We were just looking for someone to go
out with,” says Jeff. Some of their friends
had gotten married right out of high
school. “That’s a big mistake,” he adds.
Even after we were engaged we went
through a lot of rough times,” he says.
“We’re still learnmg to understand each
other,” Amanda says. “Yeah,” says Jeff,
looking at her with a smile, “cause men
and women think differently.”
Both Jeff and Amanda have received
bachelor’s degrees and have distinguished
themselves as leaders in many areas.
Amanda has a B.S. in business with a dou
ble major in marketing and management
from Appalachian State. “It was
something I always wanted to do through
hi^b ''hool,” she says. “I want to own my
own business someday but I don’t know
what.
"I do, ’ Jeff offers, “You’ll l)e a gnome
consultant!”
Her leadership credits include having
held the vice presidential office of Future
Business Leaders of America at Owens
High School, serving as co-youth director
at her church in Black Mountain, and
graduating with honors from ASU.
Jeff received his BA from Western
Carolina in anthropology, a subject which
fascinates him. He says, “I like studying
the different things man can do — the dif
ferent types of people. And the fact that
our entire civilization is based on one thing
— the ability to remember symbols.” He is
a meml)er of the National Collegiate
Achievement Academy and holds positions
in several anthropology clubs.
So, how did they wind up here? And how
did they wind up getting hitched the day of
matriculation?
“We set the wedding date before Jeff got
the job,” Amanda explains. As they
related it, the caterers and others they had
hired didn’t take kindly to the idea of hav
ing to change their appointment books.
As for how they came to BC, Jeff says he
was working in the Admissions office at
Montreat-Anderson when they underwent
a policy change. “My philosophy and
theirs didn’t match up,” he says. After
resigning on good terms he tried several
careers, not finding anything rewarding.
While in Atlanta, he was recommended to
a placement service for college employees
where he met Sharon Waggy and Barry
Tadlock. That led him to the job he now
has in which he finds a lot of satisfaction,
part of which is due to the warmth and
teamwork among his fellow employees.
“Dean McLendon is someone we owe a
lot of thanks to,” says Jeff. Bob McLen
don, Dean of Admissions came to Green on
matriculation day to cover for Jeff while
he went to Black Mountain to get married.
When asked how he feels about being
here, he replies, “Great! This is exactly
the kind of work I was looking for - doing
what I want to do...BC has one of the best
faculty make-ups I’ve ever seen.
“Amanda has the perfect job for her,”
he continues, referring to her job as ad
visor to the yearbook staff. “She’s exactly
suited for that. She likes to be organized
and she likes to know what’s going on and
do things way in advance.’
While citing his reasons for being happy
to be at BC, he adds, “Plus, the Davidson
River’s one of the top 100 trout streams in
North America!”
After surviving their first six months in
Green with the heavy workload RD’s and
advisors are known to have, the couple will
finally get to take a real honeymoon in
January. “We’re taking the Amtrak to
New Orleans. We’re both big history buffs
since our moms are both history
teachers,” says Amanda.
Jeff would like to continue his education
and is working to locate a college that of
fers a program in student personnel ser
vices. “I’m not having a lot of luck with the
degree I’m looking for — it’s not offered,”
he says. He describes the focus of the pro
gram as “RD stuff.”
Jeff feels strongly about the future of
BC. “I think the College is heading in the
right direction...there’s a good staff and
we’re getting the kind of students that are
right for this college.”
Working together and sharing with tJie
campus the happiness they’ve found with
each other, Jeff and Amanda Battle have
become part of the BC family. Thetf
humor and ability to adjust to life as it
comes have already made them part of
that great staff Jeff mentioned.
And if you haven’t met Jeff yet, be on the
lookout for a very tall RD with a sweet wife
and a semi-psychotic, mischevious twinkle
in his eye.
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