March 1, 2018 Edition

2018 Student Affairs Awards – Nominations Open

The Division of Student Affairs and the SA Awards Committee are pleased to announce the nominations for the 2018 Student Affairs Awards. The streamlined online nomination process to collect all awards information and nominations was very well received last year and will be utilized again this year.

The divisional awards are connected to the Student Affairs values: (1) Respect, (2) Inclusion, (3) Student Centered, (4) Excellence, (5) Integrity and (6) Service.

For the SA Values awards, you may choose up to three (3) divisional values the nominee best represents.  You may choose to nominate an individual for more than one award (maximum three (3), inclusive of the Emerging Professional award), but you will only need to fill out the nomination process once per nominee.  If you wish to nominate more than one colleague, you will need to submit multiple nominations.

In addition to the divisional Values awards, the Emerging Professional award will also be awarded.

Here are some of the details specific to the Student Affairs awards:

• Nominations open March 1, 2018
• Nominations close March 31, 2018
• Self-nominations permitted (must provide an additional reference)
• Nominees will receive official notification from Dr. Hardy and may be contacted by the Awards Committee for additional information (if needed)
• All nominees will be recognized at the SA End of Year Celebration on May 16th in Hendrix Theatre at 10am (please mark your calendars)
• Winners will be announced at the SA End of Year Celebration on May 16th

Please CLICK HERE to complete the Student Affairs Awards Nomination Form.

For any questions about this submission process, please contact Jeremy Tuchmayer, chair of the SA Awards Committee at tuchmayerj14@ecu.edu.

SGA Election Results

The 2018 SGA Elections ended on Friday, February 23 with 1,805 students who voted. In 2016, 1,137 students voted in the general election, and in 2017, with four presidential tickets running, 2,833 students voted. This year, there were only two tickets running, so there will not be a runoff election as there has been the past two years.

Newly elected members for 2018-2019 are listed below. If you have any questions, please contact Hank Bowen, SGA Advisor.  If you work with any of these students, please congratulate them on their accomplishment.

2018-2019 Student Government Association
Spring Election Winners

Executive Tickets:
President: Jordan Koonts
Vice President: Lillie Rhodes

Sophomore Class Representative: Lydia Cone
Junior Class Representative: Haley Creef

CLICK HERE for a list of the At-Large Representatives.

Alternative Spring Break

Written by Crystal Baity, ECU News Services

Almost 100 students and staff from East Carolina University will spend spring break serving others in local communities, across five states and in Northern Ireland.

It’s the largest group of students to sign up for ECU’s Alternative Break Experience (ABE) since the ECU Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement began offering it over five years ago, said Nichelle Shuck, the center’s associate director for student leadership and educational programs.

ECU’s spring break begins this weekend. Classes will resume March 12.

In Greenville, ECU students on “Staycation” will work Saturday, March 3 through Wednesday, March 7 with community partners focused on youth and nutrition. Students will stay at Peace Presbyterian Church while weeding and planting in area community gardens as well as tutoring and mentoring youth in Greenville’s Police Athletic League, at South Greenville Elementary School and in the Ayden and Farmville units of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Coastal Plain.

Also, this is the eighth year that ECU students will travel to Carteret County and Atlantic Beach. From Sunday, March 4 to Thursday, March 8, students will clean and paint cabins at Camp Albemarle, where they will bunk for the week. Students also will work with the NC Coastal Federation on oyster habitat restoration, constructing rain water gardens with a local elementary school and the area Boys and Girls Clubs, beach cleanup and project maintenance as needed.

New this year will be an ABE collaboration between ECU, Barton College and local nonprofit organizations that are hosting five AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers through the Healthy Futures initiative. Students will serve in underserved neighborhoods and communities from March 3 to March 8 to address access to healthy foods and health care. Partner agencies include Barton College, the City of Wilson, Wilson County Health Department, Wilson Family YMCA and the United Way of Wilson County.

The first international service-learning program in Northern Ireland involves cross-campus partnerships between the Honors College, the School of Communication and the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement. Along with Amizade, a nonprofit service-learning organization in Northern Ireland, ECU students will learn how cultures and past histories, including conflicts addressed by the Belfast (Peace) Agreement of 1998, still impact communication and daily life for residents. Students will learn to work collaboratively through hands-on, service-learning experiences at youth clubs. They also will visit with officials who have experience in community-based learning, peace-building and peace-keeping efforts.

Other ECU students will travel to Baltimore, Maryland, to work on projects addressing poverty and homelessness; to Roanoke, Virginia, for community health-related service projects; to Columbia, South Carolina, to work with youth in the juvenile justice system; and Atlanta, Georgia, where students will work with the LGBT community and homeless youth. Also the ECU Honors College will be hosting their Alternative Break Experience in Flat Rock and Asheville. Students will learn about Appalachian culture, innovative storm water control, native plant identification and will conduct river cleanup and invasive plant removal in conjunction with RiverLink, a nonprofit environmental group.

Alternative break experiences are offered throughout the year to create student learning opportunities in diverse environments that address social, economic, political, environmental, spiritual and cultural issues. Students learn through the exchange of ideas, personal reflection, critical thinking and by applying academic concepts outside the classroom, Shuck said.

Leadership Development for Positive Change – ECU Leads

Written by Tara Kermiet, Associate Director for Curricular Programs, Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement

ECU Leads is a three-year, multi-stage program integrating co-curricular learning, curricular learning, and experiential learning.  The program provides an integrative learning experience through academic coursework, civic engagement, and campus involvement that enriches students’ understanding of inclusion, leadership, and service within a global community.

Students enroll in the Leadership Studies minor, are recognized for campus involvement, build community with a cohort of students, and develop relationships with campus mentors.  Through ECU Leads, students will develop competencies such as communication, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration that will allow them to become more effective leader son campus and in the workplace.  Additionally, students will practice critical reflection and self-discovery, connecting theory and practice through co-curricular learning and experiential education within a leadership community.  Students who complete all three stages of ECU Leads receive an ECU Leads medallion to wear at commencement, graduate with a Leadership Students Minor, and receive the ECU Leads notation on their academic transcript.

Full time students with at least 30 completed undergraduate credit hours by the start of the 2018-2019 academic year may apply to participate next year.  Participants should have three years remaining at ECU in order to fully participate in the program.  The 2018-2019 cohort application is now available online.  Participant applications are due April 15.

Students interested in serving as a mentor for the 2018-2019 cohort of participants may apply online by March 26.  Mentor responsibilities include attending spring and fall trainings, ECU Leads events, bi-weekly mentor meetings, leading monthly book discussions with mentees, and scheduling one-on-one meetings with mentees.

For more information about ECU Leads, please visit https://lead.ecu.edu/.

#MeToo  #TimesUp  #WhatsNext – Cupola Conversation on March 14

The Division of Student Affairs is pleased to announce the final Spring 2018 installment of Cupola Conversations. This session is entitled “#MeToo  #TimesUp  #WhatsNext” on Wednesday, March 14, 2018 at a special start time of 3:00 pm in Mendenhall Student Center Room 244.

The #MeToo movement launched more than a decade ago but garnered national attention in October 2017.  The movement is an effort to help demonstrate the widespread prevalence of sexual assault and harassment. TIME Magazine named the “Silence Breakers” as its 2017 Person of the Year for speaking out against sexual violence and harassment.  In the months to follow, women in Hollywood, television, politics, athletics, youth sports and more shared their personal stories of sexual harassment and intimidation on social media and in the mainstream media.

In January 2018, #TimesUp launched after the New York Times shared a letter of support from the Alianza de Campesinas and the desire to support women, men, people of color and the LGBT community with less access to media platforms and/or the funds to speak out about harassment.  More than $20 million has been raised and more than 200 volunteer lawyers have signed up to give a voice to the voiceless.

This Cupola Conversation will feature a panel of students, faculty, staff and community members talking about the movements and how this impacts ECU’s campus, eastern North Carolina and beyond.

The panelists for this Cupola Conversation are:

• Haley Creef – ECU SGA Treasurer /ECU Student
• Dr. Jake Jensen – ECU Assistant Professor – Human Development & Family Science
• Kat Bursky – ECU Victim Advocate / Staff
• Dr. Lathan Turner – Associate Director Student Transitions /ECU Male Student Initiatives

The panel, and those in attendance, will also discuss #WhatsNext for these movements; is sustainable change possible; are these efforts achieving their intended goals; and what roles should college women and men take to make a difference.  This program will be a town hall style format and features panelists who will share opinions and thoughts about what they believe is needed to engage in better, more constructive, conversations about the topic.

Cupola Conversations is a program developed by the Division of Student Affairs in Fall 2016 intended to create informal opportunities for the university community to engage in constructive dialogue about various topics, some of which may be high interest and potentially provocative.

ECU featured in Vote Everywhere – Campus Spotlight

Written by The Andrew Goodman Foundation

Alongside other North Carolina Vote Everywhere campus teams, the team at East Carolina University (ECU) marched on Raleigh a couple of weeks ago.  The ECU campus team not only participated themselves, but also extended an invitation for other ECU students to join.

According to Mia Graves, ECU Ambassador, she “started by reaching out to the NAACP chapter” and “also offered rides to people who may have needed one.” With a university-provided truck, Mia drove a group of students almost two hours to Raleigh to march for voting rights and a more inclusive democracy.

Mia believes that “coming together to stand for something meaningful and work together to achieve a common goal shows people that we really care about the issues we are fighting for.” Just as many of you carry the torch on your campuses, Mia marched to speak out against “laws that were put into place to weaken the influence of minority voters.”

Seniors Eager as Graduation Approaches

Written by the Daily Reflector

Exuberance was mixed with bittersweet emotions as graduating seniors at East Carolina University picked up their purple cap and gowns this week at the Dowdy Student Store during the 2018 Graduation Expo.

Senior Veronica Niland, who double majored in finance and accounting, said she is eager to graduate, but a bit nervous.

“It’s exciting but it’s scary at the same time,” Niland said. “We’ve all wanted to graduate but now that it’s coming up in three months, you’re excited to move on but you’re sad that you’re leaving the college and the university because it’s such a great place.”

Niland who is from New Jersey, decided to follow in her sister’s footsteps and come to ECU.

“Originally my sister came to ECU so I followed her down here and I’m kinda happy I did because I love it here.”

Niland is unsure about where she wants to work, but said she wants to pursue a career in accounting.

Galissia Cause, a track and field athlete who is a family and community services major from Gainesville, Va., is just happy to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“It’s a relief,” Cause said. “Seems like it took a while.” She hopes to work for a nonprofit.

Cause has cause for optimism, according to an ECU Official.

On average, 87 percent of ECU graduates get jobs or continue their education within six months after graduation, according to Patrick Roberts, associate director of ECU Career Services.

“Seniors should take advantage of all the resources available through career services including career counseling services and on campus recruitment programs,” Roberts said.

For the complete story CLICK HERE.

Pirate Academy Spring Graduates

ECU’s Pirate Academy, modeled after the ACUHO-I Stars College program, was established to provide programming, resources, experiential learning, and mentoring for undergraduate and graduate students considering a career in student affairs, according to ECU director of residence life Waz Miller.

“For a long time in the housing field, there were not enough students going on to graduate school, so we were afraid our profession was going to suffer,” Miller said. “ACUHO-I then established the Stars College to attract students from across the country who wanted to get a taste of the field,” said Miller. “I brought that idea to our Student Affairs Leadership Team and they decided to implement it for the Division.”

To enter the Pirate Academy, students must have demonstrated an interest in the student affairs profession through their active participation in student organizations, campus or residence life, student employment, or community service. Once accepted into the program, Pirate Academy enrollees meet regularly to learn about various careers within student affairs. They are also assigned a mentor, a professional from within their field.

SPRING 2018 GRADUATES
Kameron Hawk
Hannah Hensley
Ashley Konarski
Kendra Lloyd
Christian Mercado
Molly Parham
Karina Pfeiffer
Alexis Purdy
Hayden Raynor
Keasha Scarboro
Patricia Willis

The Five Great Hazing Myths

The Office of Greek Life and Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities invite the ECU Community to Dr. Gentry McCreary, Ph.D. speak about The Five Great Hazing Myths! The event will be held Tuesday, March 20th at 8:00pm in Wright Auditorium.
Dr. McCreary’s unique experiences allow him to serve as a valuable resource for campuses & inter/national fraternal organizations grappling with hazing, risk management & substance abuse problems. He has worked with student conduct, fraternity/sorority life, has devoted attention to hazing, brotherhood & sisterhood.

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