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Christian Brothers University (CBU) is pleased to announce it will honor two graduates during CBU’s
Alumni Weekend on September 20-21. These awards — the Distinguished Alumnus/a Award and the
Distinguished Young Alumnus/a Award — recognize graduates who have achieved a notable level of
success in life, made significant contributions to his or her profession, supported the efforts of CBU, and
contributed to society through public service and/or church activities.
Carolyn Henry, a graduate of the CBU Class of 1992, will be honored as the recipient of the Distinguished
Alumna Award and recognized for her journeys through the worlds of finance, film, and philanthropy
that exemplify her professional and personal dedication, creativity, and resilience. Born into a life filled
with early adversities in Clarksdale, MS, Henry found herself faced with the devastating loss of several
close family members within a short time span, but her determination remained unshaken. She moved
to Memphis in 1985, and a pivotal mock interview at the Memphis Urban League with Dr. Inetta Rogers
led to a position at First Tennessee Bank, where Rogers was a human resources officer at the time. This
position began Henry’s long and successful career in the financial industry. While working full-time, she
pursued her academic ambitions by taking evening classes at CBU and obtained her bachelor’s degree in
accounting in 1992. She continued her education following her CBU graduation and received an MBA
from the University of Phoenix in 2006.
With over 30 years in finance roles, Henry’s experience spans major corporations and institutions that
include the Internal Revenue Service, Nations Bank/Boatman’s National, Trammell Crow Company,
ServiceMaster, and FedEx Services. Since January 2021, she has been the chief financial officer and
shareholder of BLP Film Studios, LLC. Her involvement with BLP began in 2018 when she created a multi-
acre film studio campus in Memphis, a venture to boost the local economy through the arts. Henry’s
creative ventures include writing and producing “The City of Crosses,” a 13-episode drama that is
currently available on Amazon, Tubi, Peacock, and other digital streaming platforms. She holds executive
producer credits for films like “Hidden Orchard Mysteries” and shorts such as “Tall Tales” and “The
Picture.” Henry has continued to expand her creative repertoire with projects that include a recently
released feature film titled “Lethal Love Affair” and several documentaries and two feature films
currently scheduled to be released in 2025.
Beyond her professional and creative accomplishments, Carolyn Henry is deeply committed to giving
back to her community. She serves on the Business Advisory Board at CBU, is a trustee of the Memphis
Symphony Orchestra’s Circle of Friends, and she engages with numerous other local nonprofits. Her
volunteer efforts span from Habitat for Humanity at ServiceMaster to various initiatives under FedEx
Cares.
Dr. Cameron Volpe Fili, a graduate of the CBU Class of 2013, will be honored as the recipient of the
Distinguished Young Alumna Award and recognized for her work in veterinary and laboratory animal
medicine, as well as her volunteer work in a combination of fields that include animal welfare,
community theatre, and church choirs.
As a student at CBU, Dr. Fili was the recipient of the Plough Scholarship, which provided full tuition for all
four years of her education. After graduating from CBU with an honors degree in Biology with a minor in
Chemistry, she attended Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine, where she
graduated as a salutatorian with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2017. She has since completed a
residency in Laboratory Animal Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and has
been board-certified by the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine. She has been employed as
a veterinary medical officer at the FDA National Center for Toxicological Research outside of Little Rock,
AR since 2020, where she serves as a clinical laboratory animal veterinarian overseeing large animal
research projects, and trains government principal investigators and their staff in animal handling,
injections, blood collection, and euthanasia.
Dr. Fili is not the only CBU graduate in her family. The tradition began with her maternal grandfather,
John McCabe (Class of 1960); and continued with her parents, Lauren McCabe Volpe and Paul Volpe
(Class of 1984); her uncle, Rick McCabe (Class of 1984); and her brother, Jason Volpe (Class of 2010). In
fact, her parents preceded her in receiving the Distinguished Young Alumnus/a Award by being honored
with it back in 1993. She also met her husband, Jonathan Fili, at CBU — he graduated in 2013 with a
degree in Engineering Physics, and they married in 2015.
Dr. Fili’s history of volunteer work in animal welfare service started as a CBU student when she interned
at Walnut Grove Animal Clinic and UTHSC’s veterinary labs and continued at the Homeless Animal Relief
Project in Senatobia, MS, the Biomedical Research Awareness Day at UTHSC, and the Laboratory Animal
Welfare Training Exchange Conference.
Dr. Fili has also been active as a singer in several choirs, including CBU’s Stritch Chapel choir as an
undergraduate student and the choir at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Starkville, MS as a veterinary
student. When she and her husband moved back to Memphis for her UTHSC residency, they led the
mass music at Stritch Chapel on Sunday nights, with Jonathan playing guitar and both singing and leading
a choir of undergraduate students. Since moving to Little Rock, her volunteerism has been mostly in
community theatre, one of her favorite extracurricular activities prior to vet school. She and her husband
have both been part of several theatre productions, including her role as stage manager for “Sweeney
Todd,” “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “26 Pebbles,” and “Chicago.”
She also acted in the role of Mrs. Bucket in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” at Little Rock’s Studio
Theatre.