Tigers Take
Six adventurous dynamos and their advisors experienced firsthand the meaning of paying it forward on a trip to New York City over Spring Break. “The first day, we were like a mother hen with a bunch of chicks,” Wendell Godwin, dean of the Harland C. Stonecipher School of Business and one of the advisors who went along on the trip, said. “By the fourth or fifth day, they didn’t even want us around. They went from that really scared sense where everything is intimidating to where this isn’t so bad.” As members of the elite two-year Student Scholar’s Program in the Jim Gray Center for Student Excellence in the Stonecipher School of Business and thanks to the generosity of a number of donors, the six received a scholarship of $2,000 and, as a reward for being in the program, an annual trip valued at $2,500. “I really enjoyed getting to see all of the culture that is expressed in New York,” Jaylea Lillard, a junior accounting major with a certificate in banking and finance, said. “It is so different than in Ada. You can go from one district to another and a whole separate heritage is represented.” In addition to Lillard, Alan Dennis, a junior accounting major; Brie Grimes, a junior business administration major with management concentration; Jiajun Lin, a junior business administration major with finance concentration; Kathryn Keiffer, a junior, accounting major; and Trevor Sutton, a senior accounting major; also made the trip along with Godwin and Joe Dougherty, faculty director of the
program. During their visit, the students had breakfast with Jim Gray (’82) at the East of Eighth Restaurant where he talked about his passion for giving back and the importance of their doing the same. “I saw a lot of myself at that age in them,” Gray said. “These are young men and women from small towns, looking to make their mark in the world. In my profession, I work with many people with degrees from some of the most ‘prestigious’ universities in the nation. Those people have nothing on the students from ECU. Well, other than the fact that they paid more for their education.” Gray has pledged $100,000 to the Stonecipher School of Business and at $97,000 is nearly at goal. A part of his donation goes towards the Jim Gray Center, the umbrella covering all of the business clubs and organizations. “ECU holds a special place in my heart,” Gray said. “I made many friends there who were instrumental in shaping who I am today, not just professionally, but also as a person. Regardless of where my life's journey takes me, ECU will always be home.” Gray, a Byng graduate who now specializes in converting utilities to SAP, a global software company, also visited with the students about taking opportunities as they came about, remembering their roots and giving back to the community. “He is a great guy and we are just blessed to have people like that who give back to our school,” Godwin said.
Top Photo: The ECU delegation poses in front of one of the many iconic landmarks they saw on their trip. Left Middle Photo: Student scholars Trevor Sutton, Brie Grimes, Kathryn Keiffer, Jaylea Lillard, Alan Dennis and Jiajun Lin take in the sights at the American Museum of Natural History. 10 The Columns
