Highlanders in the News: Week of June 8, 2026

Our Highlanders are using their education to do extraordinary things. In this column, we highlight some notable mentions from local, regional, national and international news media. Whether our students, alumni, faculty and staff are featured as subject matter experts in high-profile stories or simply helping make the world a better place, we'll feature their stories.

'Pickle' relish

When Youssef Bouzidi '99 left Morocco to play tennis at Radford University in 1995, he knew that at least a few learning curves would be waiting for him.

"I had not played on hard courts until I came to the U.S., so it was a little bit challenging for me when I went to Radford," Bouzidi told Cardinal News in a June 5 profile. "I had never used a computer until I went to Radford. I did not speak any English."

But Bouzidi overcame those obstacles and thrived as a student-athlete despite the adversity, securing All-Big South honors during his sophomore, junior and senior years while also claiming Radford's team's No. 1 position across his entire undergraduate career.

Today, three decades later, he's a senior accountant at Carilion Wellness, but he's still out there smashing records - albeit on a slightly different court and having traded his racquet for a paddle.

Bouzidi is currently ranked No. 1 nationally in the American Association of Retired Persons/Association of Pickleball Players (AARP/APP) men's professional 50-over singles ratings, and he holds the No. 2 slot in men's doubles as well as mixed doubles.

Further, according to Cardinal's story, "he recently won the U.S. Senior singles championship and the U.S. Open Senior singles championship in Naples, Florida, while placing third in men's doubles and adding a bronze medal in the mixed doubles split pro age division."

Now known in pickleball circuits as the "Moroccan Magician," Bouzidi has a career that spans more than 30 years. It's a rich story, and veteran sportswriter Robert Anderson gets to the heart of it in his Cardinal piece.

Regarding his ongoing success and his ascension within what is currently the fastest-growing sport in the world, Bouzidi remains both casual and confident: "It's just crazy how some things are meant to be."

'Splash' zone

On May 31, WDBJ-7 gave viewers a quick look at Roanoke County's Splash Valley and also some of the people who work at the popular water park.

One of those staffers is Zach Van Curen '25, of Blue Ridge, Virginia. He's Splash Valley's pool manager, and he told the station he appreciates the job's flexible schedule as well as the sense of community the park offers.

"We're kind of like a family here," he said, "so everybody for the most part just gets along, has a good time, and you make friends."

Van Curen knows that familiarity quite well. He started working there his freshman year, continued each summer as he earned a bachelor's degree in management, and now - as he marks his fifth summer at the facility - he's pursuing his MBA at Radford.

'My heart will always be here'

When LeeAnn Elder '14 began performing with the Roanoke Ballet Theatre back in 2014, her first role was that of Aurora in a production of "The Sleeping Beauty."

Last week, a dozen years later, Elder reprised that character in two performances at the Jefferson Center and, in doing so, she closed a circle - the theater's longest tenured ballerina, she's about to retire.

"I don't ever want to stop," she told The Roanoke Times in a May 24 profile, "but it's time to."

She said she plans to focus more free time on her two children - her daughter, who's 5, and her 20-month-old son - but hopes ultimately to continue working in dance.

"I will have to be in the studio in some capacity," Elder said. "My heart will always be here."

Extra credits

Last month, through its education foundation, the Cumberland County (Virginia) Public Schools Foundation awarded 54 scholarships, totaling $43,850, to 29 Cumberland County High School graduates and alumni.

A May 20 story in the Farmville Herald listed those recipients, and among them are two current Highlanders, Sydney Caban and JaMiya Smith, both senior nursing majors from that region.

Caban received a Firth Scholarship for $1,000, typically given to students pursuing degrees in healthcare, and a Juanita Urban, Joanne Macleay and Nellie Glenn Book Scholarship of $250, for a total of $1,250.

Smith was given a Lineweaver Family Scholarship for $1,000, often awarded to students studying in the New River Valley, and a Thomas Chapel Scholarship of $500, totaling $1,500.

According to the Herald's story, the foundation since its inception has given $833,000 toward education - $667,000 in scholarships to Cumberland High School graduates and $166,000 in teacher grants.