class notes
Jay Clark
A lumni S potlight
MARK FLANAGAN was named vice president of operations at Jack A. Farrior, a general contracting company in Farmville. BECKY SCHULTES started Sweet Teeth in Sarasota, Fla., which sells and delivers cake pops (lollipops made of cake), cake bites and cake truffles. 2008
ECU staff member Greg Hedgepeth ’08 is on a mission to help African-American males excel in class here and in life. After reading about and studying how they suffer both academically and socially at institutions of higher education, Hedgepeth, 27, founded a nonprofit, African–American Male Mentoring Program (AAMMP), with colleagues Roderick Bradley and Charles Clency. “We all agreed that this was a problem that we needed to address,” says Hedgepeth, who serves as the senior Web developer for University Marketing and Publications. Thirty-two African-American men, mostly freshmen and a few sophomores, were inducted into AAMMP for fall 2011. The mentoring program includes guest speakers, special events, different cultural experiences and an intramural basketball team. The AAMMP group also attended a seminar about African-American ancestory given by Harvard’s Henry Louis Gates Jr., a leading authority in human genealogy. African-American faculty members are also involved in the program and take on three students each as their respective mentees. The program founders wanted African-American mentors because they felt the students would respond better to people to whom they can relate. Hedgepeth hopes current students will someday serve as mentors for future classes, as well as build a network that will exist beyond ECU. “Our main goal is to build a network that is both professional and personal,” Hedgepeth says. ECU sophomore David Evans is a member of the first group of AAMMP and participated in its intramural basketball team. “The whole team became closer and became great friends,” says Evans. “Mr. Hedgepeth is a great coach and mentor and has taught us a lot in a small amount of time.” Hedgepeth is not just doing this to teach, but to learn as well, he says. “I’m 27 years old, so there is not a huge age gap between me and these young men,” he says. “I find myself learning from them in the process of teaching.” He is also glad to be able to give back to students. “Who knows where I would be if there had been a program like this when I was a student,” he says. “Basically, I want to give as much knowledge as I can. I try to inspire.”
East occasionally publishes original work by ECU students. This story was written by Dorwin Howard for a news writing class and edited by Justin Boulmay.
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JONATHAN WESLEY CAINES wed Linsey M. Boone on Dec. 17 at Chadbourn Baptist Church, Chadbourn. He is a sales representative with Docusystems of Myrtle Beach, S.C. PAIGE ROMANOW is catering sales executive for Tysons Corner Marriott in Fairfax County, Va. She is a Marriott-certified wedding planner and has earned Green Meetings certification. ANNE MARGARET WALL wed MATTHEW EARL GAULT ’07 on Oct. 1 at All Saints Chapel, Raleigh. JENNA LEIGH WHITEHURST wed Heber Carl Aldridge II on Feb. 4 at The Martinsborough, Greenville. Bridesmaids were Angela Coggins ’09 and Katie Nock ’08. She is a registered nurse with East Carolina Neurology, Greenville. 2007 Dr. MARY CATHERINE BRAKE is a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the Brody School of Medicine and a member of ECU Physicians. DAVID ASHLEY COOPER is director of accountability and virtual learning for Person County Schools. He was assistant principal of Helena Elementary School, Timberlake. LAUREN FAYE CURTIS wed Woodrow Jackson Farrington II on April 28 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Greenville. She is an associate attorney with the law firm of Estes, Sanders & Williams in Birmingham, Ala. Her bridesmaids included Brittany Sherman ’08, Megan Miller ’09, Brittany Adams ’09 and Jessica Davis ’09. Dr. RANDI DIKEMAN is dean of the Division of Corporate and Community Development at Edgecombe Community College, Tarboro. He was director of customized training and director of workforce development at ECC. MARY AMANDA GARNER wed JUSTIN KIEL MEDLIN ’05 on Aug. 6, 2011, at College Place United Methodist Church, Greensboro. In Charleston, W. Va., she is a pediatric occupational therapist at Professional Therapy Services and he is an orthopedic surgical physician assistant at OrthoClinic. HEATHER MICHELLE PHILLIPS wed Adrian Mark Boyd on Oct. 15, 2011, at Rose Hill Free Will Baptist Church, Winterville. Jamie West Pernell ’07 was matron of honor. Bridesmaids included Natalie Kinal ’07, Kim Russell ’07 ’08 and Hannah Manning ’06. JORDAN VAINRIGHT PROCTOR, president and lead designer for Signature Jordan, passed the National Council for Interior Design Qualification exam. Her design studio is in Greenville. GAVIN JARED STARK wed Barbara Ashley Allen on May 12 at Belin United Methodist Church, Murrells Inlet, S.C.