[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]I was the first female member of my family to attend college. I chose Auburn because it represented all the values of higher learning that I hoped to achieve. The legacy of the science of agriculture, something my dad had hoped to be a part of but alas fell short. The idea that being an educated adult meant that I would achieve my folks dream of a better life. And even though I probably didn’t realize it at the time, I had set my eyes on a higher goal than just to bag a husband!
I can proudly say I was in the graduating class of BSW, Bachelors in Social Work that helped the University receive its accreditation in the young program. What a proud moment for me as a student and my professors and peers!
Finally, although this isn’t actually a University story it is a story that will forever tie me to the Plains. I was a lemonade jerk at Toomers! Yep, spent most of my Saturdays not at Shug Jordan Stadium, but behind a counter at Toomers. What a fantastic experience in real word work but oh my gosh how proud I am now to say I am an alumni of Toomers Drug Store as well! War Eagle.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”16012″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_text_separator title=”More than a decade later, Ryan and Andrew Bynum finally understand what those ‘numbers’ mean “][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]My name is Chris Cooper Bynum. I graduated from Auburn in 1987. My oldest son graduates this Sunday! He recently reminded me of a story I wanted to share with you.
We lived in Texas for a while when our boys were younger. (We are now back in Alabama) so it was a rare and special occasion to visit campus as they were growing up. I brought them to The Plains as often as I could.
Years ago when the opportunity to buy bricks at the football players’ entrance to Jordan Hare Stadium became available, my mother bought a brick for everyone in our family. The next time I was able to bring my sons, Ryan and Andrew (both now current students at Auburn), to see the bricks, they were 9 and 6&1/2 years old. That was the summer of 2003.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”15883″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”15896″ alignment=”” animation=”Fade In” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/2″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Upon seeing the bricks, my oldest son, Ryan, asked why every other family member had “numbers” on their brick but he and Andrew did not. I laughed and explained that those were our graduation years… Edwina Kilpatrick Cooper 1962, Leon Curtis Cooper 1967, Chris Cooper Bynum 1987 and Mark Camp Cooper 1995. Ryan & Andrew were so disappointed about the “numbers”!
So, I told them that if they graduated from Auburn (their dad is an Alabama alum), I would get down on my hands & knees with a hammer & chisel and put their graduation year on their bricks myself! Haha!
Well… Hallelujah and War Eagle! Ryan will graduate this Sunday with a 4.0GPA in Biomedical Science and start med school at UAB this summer! He reminded me last week about my “hammer & chisel” declaration. But don’t worry, I will not be climbing the fence to deface the bricks![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”15646″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]As a young girl from Millry, AL, I began Auburn in 1978 hoping to become a chemical engineer. After two years, I changed my major to Pharmacy and never looked back.
The pharmacy profession lead my to the love of my life, Wayne, who was also a pharmacist. We married in 1983 and began our life. Our union produced two more Auburn graduates, Leslie ’11 and Daniel ’15. My husband passed away in 2002. After this life changing event, I became a stay-at-home mom until Leslie could drive.
I then entered a political world. I was elected to the local school board in 2006 and in 2009 I was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives where I remain today. I serve on the Healthcare committee, the General Fund committee and the Rules committee. I am a member on the Governor’s Health improvement Task Force, the Opioid Abuse and Addiction Task Force, the Energy Council and the Unmanned Vehicle study Commission.
I am a life member of the Auburn Alumni Association, a member of the Pharmacy Alumni Association, the 1856 Society, and Tigers Unlimited. I have served as president of the Clarke-Washington Alumni Association. I am involved in the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the NRA. I am a member of the Chatom Baptist Church.
Above all, I love Auburn and following Auburn sports.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
I learned the auburn fight song when I was 3 and it was the only school I wanted to go to! Auburn University helped me reach my dreams of being an animal trainer at a zoo. I have worked with all sorts of animals and most recently cheetahs.
No matter where my career takes me, I always carry with me my love of Auburn.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”15452″ alignment=”center” animation=”Fade In” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]I came to Auburn without knowing a single soul back in 2010. I desperately hoped that the whole concept of an “Auburn Family” would deliver – it did that, and then some. In the years that followed, I’d find a core group of people that would lift me when I’m down and give me nothing but their love and support. I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without them. We believe in love and equality. We believe in Auburn.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
