Spring 2019 Magazine

2019

High Point University PREMIER LIFE SKILLS UNIVERSITY

Armed with Life Skills, HPU graduates are thriving in the competitive marketplace.

Have you met these

GLOBAL LEADERS? Condoleezza Rice

General Colin L. Powell

John Maxwell

Malcolm Gladwell

66th Secretary of State

New York Times Best-Selling Author and Leadership Expert

USA (Ret.), Former Secretary of State

New York Times Best-Selling Author

Byron Pitts

Josh Groban

Wes Moore

Marc Randolph

Co-Anchor of ABC News’ Multi-platinum Singer, “Nightline” Songwriter and Producer HPU’s Journalist in Residence

New York Times Best-Selling Author, Army Combat Veteran, Political Analyst, Entrepreneur

Netflix Co-Founder, HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence

Steve Wozniak

Apple Co-Founder, HPU’s Innovator in Residence

Dr. Julie Freischlag CEO of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

High Point University students have. www.highpoint.edu/series Visit the link above to watch HPU’s Access to Innovators Series.

At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people.®

High Point University Magazine

High Point University Board Leadership

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Board of Trustees John L. Finch, Chairman Dr. Robert J. Brown, Vice Chairman

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Board of Visitors Mark Phillips, Chairman Alumni Board Lauren McGraw Kraemer, ’10, President Panther Club Jamie Amos, President SEND QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT HPU MAGAZINE TO: Pam Haynes, Assistant Vice President for Communications High Point University One University Parkway High Point, NC 27268 USA 336-841-9055 phaynes@highpoint.edu SEND INFORMATION FOR CLASS NOTES AND ADDRESS CHANGES TO: Office of Institutional Advancement High Point University One University Parkway High Point, NC 27268 USA recordupdates@highpoint.edu 336-841-9696 High Point University website: highpoint.edu Facebook.com/HighPointU Twitter.com/HighPointU Instagram.com/HighPointU HPU Magazine is published for alumni, parents and friends of High Point University.

EXTRAORDINARY EDUCATION Life Skills

Preparing Graduates for Continuous Success

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INSPIRING ENVIRONMENT Your Environment Matters Students Reach Their Fullest Potential

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CARING PEOPLE Supporting a Sister School HPU Gives $1 Million to Bennett College

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Numbers to know: Admissions: 800-345-6993 Campus Concierge: 336-841-4636 Alumni Engagement: 336-841-9548 Family Engagement: 336-841-9641 Athletics: 336-841-9281 Security: 336-841-9112

HPU graduates featured on the cover and throughout this magazine (including the foldout between pages 16-17) are thriving in the marketplace due in large measure to the life skills they developed at HPU. The HPU Poll recently conducted a national C-Suite Executive Survey of 500 executives representing companies with 5,000 to 25,000 employees. The survey asked these executive leaders what traits matter most in their top employees. Their answer? Life skills. That’s why life skills have been the focus of HPU’s unique and highly relevant approach to learning — ensuring students are prepared with capabilities that outlast technical skills and allow them to build relationships, communicate, adapt amidst rapid change, thrive in competitive environments and navigate complex situations without being intimidated by life’s obstacles. With 97 percent of HPU graduates beginning careers or continuing their education within six months of graduation, HPU ensures students are prepared to thrive in the world as it is going to be.

WHO DO YOU LISTEN TO? You want to create impact in this world. You want to earn success and discover significance in your life. And you want to accomplish your dreams and goals.

In these desires, we are all alike.

Yet for so many, the stairway to success remains elusive, and the pathway to significance is obscured.

President Nido R. Qubein

As I tell all High Point University freshmen in my President’s Seminar on Life Skills, achieving our goals, creating impact and living a life of success and significance are very possible. First, we must acknowledge we need the help of others to make anything come to be. Second, we must create bridges of understanding with others in order to connect with them. And that bridge must start where they are, not where you are.

To build those bridges, to connect with those we want to partner with and to render value in this global marketplace, there are two simple directives we must follow: Listen intently. Then act with a sense of urgency.

At High Point University, our megatransformation is in large measure based on listening intently to the marketplace (employers, students and parents) and then acting with a sense of urgency. How else could you explain an investment of $2 billion in our campus academic programs, teaching facilities and student activity centers in the last few years?

When your enrollment grows by 259 percent, you know you are creating value for students and parents.

ORGANIZATIONS WANT EMPLOYEES WITH LIFE SKILLS On page 14 of this magazine, you’ll see how listening to employers has guided our approach to holistic education.

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As the Premier Life Skills University, our 97 percent success rate for graduates employed or continuing their education within six months of graduating from HPU is due, in part, to our focus on instilling a growth mindset and ensuring students are prepared to thrive amidst constant change.

Our own HPU Poll recently surveyed 500 C-suite executives to specifically ask about the importance of life skills in their employees. The results clearly identify life skills as the common thread of successful employees. Executives also shared that the real-world experiences college students amass are actually more important (from their perspective) than their major or even GPA.

This may be unsettling for colleges that wish to remain what they have always been and desire to operate as they have always operated. But for High Point University, we embrace the world as it is and as it is going to be. And that growth mindset penetrates the minds, the hearts and the souls of our students.

Sciences will open for rapidly expanding biology, chemistry and physics programs.

The Webb School of Engineering, our latest academic innovation, offers electrical engineering and computer engineering, with additional programs under development.

EXPERIENCES THAT CREATE CONTEXT

In addition to a holistic approach to life skills, as well as stellar academic programs, faculty and technology, HPU’s distinctive educational model is also rooted in values.

Internships, global education, undergraduate research and meaningful mentorship from faculty make students better equipped to connect with others who may not come from the same point of view. This is, of course, further supported by learning from global leaders such as Apple CoFounder Steve Wozniak, HPU’s Innovator in Residence, and Marc Randolph, HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence. Through a multitude of experiences, HPU students are prepared to build bridges.

Ultimately, real-world experience and practical advice from successful mentors help HPU students understand this simple lesson: It’s not about what the world can give you. It’s what YOU can contribute to the world.

And from a brilliant blend of academic innovation and real-world practicality, HPU has flourished. We’ve created a campus environment that arms faculty with the technology and time needed to meaningfully mentor students. We’ve opened six new academic schools to meet the needs of a global economy. This fall, the $65 million Wanek School of Undergraduate

AN INSTITUTION OF VALUES

Parents spend years coaching, encouraging and working to instill values in their children.

The last thing they want is to send their student to a college that isn’t going to model those same values.

As a God, family and country school, HPU fosters and promotes the same values that guided the creation of our great nation. Chief among those values are personal initiative, free enterprise, generosity, gratitude, and certainly, faith in God. There is no question we want students to live in a continuum of learning while further developing the values with which they were raised.

If you want to see the American Dream in action, if you want to see future leaders preparing to render value in the competitive marketplace, and if you want to see a campus that attracts students from all 50 states and 56 countries, then let us welcome you to the campus of High Point University. I look forward to seeing you here soon.

Sincerely, Nido R. Qubein nqubein@highpoint.edu

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Byron Pitts, co-anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline” and HPU’s Journalist in Residence, took part in a Q&A with HPU President Nido Qubein during a campus visit. Pitts also mentored students in a variety of sessions across campus. You can read more about his unique role at HPU on page 32.

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EXTRAORDINARY EDUCATION HPU’s educational model focuses on ensuring graduates will thrive in a competitive global market. That means from their first moments on campus, HPU students are introduced to an ecosystem of mentorship and support. The outcome? Students who are motivated and coachable — primary qualities employers look for in new hires.

Top Ways an HPU Education Instills Coachability 1. Direct access to HPU’s President. Students’ life skills development starts with the President’s Seminar on Life Skills. In the freshman seminar, HPU President Nido Qubein delivers lessons on relational capital, the art and science of persuasion, communication skills and many more of the life skills that help ensure students chart a path for success. Reflecting on their transformational experience at HPU, many graduates cite the President’s Seminar on Life Skills as a catalyst for their personal and professional growth.

2. Faculty partners. From undergraduate research to competing in national selling competitions, faculty quickly incorporate students into the university’s culture of mentorship. Early involvement on campus under faculty advisement helps students build a growth mindset and unique credentials that distinguish them from the 2 million people who they will graduate alongside as they compete for jobs or entrance into graduate and professional schools.

3. Meeting their No. 1 fan. Even before they move in, students meet with their personal Success Coach, a professional staff member who offers guidance, wise counsel and encouragement. Success Coaches are experts in a student’s chosen major and also guide those who are unsure of their major through HPU’s Project Discovery, a program that includes eight destination points to uncover a student’s academic passion.

4. Straight from the source. Internship panels feature HPU students who have completed internships at organizations such as Tesla, the NBA, Volvo, Madison Square Garden Company, the “TODAY” show and many other prestigious organizations. The events are designed to introduce freshmen to successful peers, and the access doesn’t end there. These same successful students go on to become Career Peer Advisors, lending valuable coaching to underclassmen for the advancement of their career.

5. HPU in the City. Each semester, a network of HPU alumni and parents provide mentorship and career exploration trips to metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C. and New York City during the university’s fall and spring breaks. Some of the nation’s top employers, such as HBO, Ralph Lauren and Bloomberg, have hosted students for a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to be a successful intern and employee.

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CREATING LIGHT BULB MOMENTS HPU Success Coaches provide a customized approach to mentorship.

Students begin their time on campus at HPU in one of three ways.

Some come unsure of their college major. That’s normal. In fact, more than half of all students nationally enter college undeclared.

Others arrive confident in their major but soon begin to second guess their choice. They relate to the 75 percent of students nationally who change their major at least once during college.

Then, there are those who come in with a plan and stick to it.

For each type, there’s an HPU success coach.

THE UNDECIDED As an incoming freshman uncertain of her major, it was hard for Molly Casper to confidently picture her HPU journey.

Then she met her success coach, Isabel Drinkwater.

Every HPU freshman is paired with a success coach, a professional staff member who offers academic guidance and encouragement throughout a student’s first year at HPU. Drinkwater specializes in working with undeclared students and guides each one through the Project Discovery

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process — HPU’s eight-step approach to uncovering a student’s academic fit.

“Project Discovery was so effective,” says Casper. “It gave me the opportunity to explore classes in a variety of different fields so I could get a feel for my strengths and the topics I was passionate about.”

Casper came to HPU knowing she loved sports. She thought the only way to apply her passion was through physical therapy. A couple of classes showed Casper that science wasn’t her career interest, but a few business courses uncovered her love for marketing.

Drinkwater opened Casper to the idea of doing both. The outcome? Today, Casper is a junior sport management major with a minor in marketing.

“Isabel not only guided me toward finding my major and setting goals that would help me succeed, but she also served as my support system,” says Casper. “When I feared I was missing out on an opportunity or struggled to find my place on campus, or if I just needed someone to talk to about my day, Isabel was always there.”

Parker Murphy’s outcomes are similar thanks to his success coach. His journey, however, traces a different path.

THE MAJOR CHANGER Athletic training. That’s what Murphy would major in when he arrived at HPU. He was certain.

With more than 800 volunteer hours in the field, Murphy met Britt Carl, his success coach, and quickly declared his major in athletic training.

But, as the year unfolded, he began to doubt his decision.

Carl was there to listen.

“She always had my academic success as her top priority,” Murphy says. “She made me feel as if I were the only student she mentored. When I started questioning my choice, Britt told me if I didn’t love it, then I should switch to something that I would want to spend the rest of my life doing.”

During the summer between his freshman and sophomore years, Murphy made the switch to sports management in the Nido R. Qubein School of Communication. Carl was there for him every step of the way.

As a senior, Murphy now has an academic advisor in the School of Communication who guides him, but he still goes to Carl almost every week to check in.

“Britt has been an invaluable part of my success at HPU and my potential to live a life of relevance and significance after graduation,” says Parker. “I will always be grateful to her.”

THE PEER MENTOR For students who stick with their initial plan, success coaches still play an important role.

Tommy Hockenjos chose HPU for its physical therapy program.

He’d known physical therapy was his passion, and one look at the Human Biomechanics and Physiology Lab was all it took.

Because his major was decided, Hockenjos turned his focus to involvement on campus. He’d led an active high school career that revolved around football, and with two older brothers, he never sat idle.

Carl was Hockenjos’ Success Coach, too.

She helped him find areas for involvement, and when he dreamed of establishing his own club — the Teddy Roosevelt Club of Excellence, an organization focused on outdoor activities and volunteerism — Carl was there to make it happen.

Today, Hockenjos stays connected with Carl and the Center for Student Success. He serves as a peer mentor — an upperclassman who helps new students find their path.

“He has just blossomed,” Carl says of Hockenjos. “When we have a student who we see is trying to find their path, we email Tommy. That’s why we call him the ‘King of Student Success.’”

Did you know?

A lack of coachability has been noted as the No. 1 reason new hires fail. In fact, on a list of life skills that employers want, coachability tops the list. How do you become coachable?

By being coached.

At HPU, coaching begins for students as soon as they arrive on campus.

Each freshman is paired with their own personal Success Coach, a professional staff member who offers guidance, wise counsel and encouragement.

THE ANATOMY OF A SUCCESS COACH Each incoming freshman at High Point University receives a personal success coach, a guide through their transitional journey into college life. Success coaches help students narrow down their major, construct a path to achieve their goals and lend academic support when needed.

Here’s a glimpse at the other important roles Success coaches fill throughout a student’s freshman year at HPU. LIFE COACH: When incoming freshmen arrive on campus, they experience a variety of emotions.

Often their first time away from home, students feel the need to quickly find their place at HPU. Success coaches answer that call. Success coaches encourage students to find their own personal niche on campus and designate ways that students can apply and pursue their passions.

UNIVERSITY LIAISON: Success coaches help students make connections with faculty and staff on campus. They refer students to the Office of Career and Professional Development, Student Life, Counseling Services, Financial Aid and other offices on campus to ensure they receive the support and encouragement they need.

ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR: Success coaches assist in the implementation of programs and services designed to promote academic, personal and social/emotional success in each student. They encourage students to get involved in clubs, intramural sports or other campus activities as a means of staying engaged beginning day one.

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LIFELONG CAREER PREPARATION HPU’s professional development process is a lasting investment for students.

When Anne Drew Allen was a high school senior from Austin, Texas, she dreamed of attending a college with a big football team.

But her dad heard about High Point University in North Carolina and knew his daughter needed to see it.

“He may have dragged me here, but as soon as I arrived, I realized something,” says Allen, who secured full-time, post-graduate employment nine months before she graduated from HPU this spring.

“I realized I would get so much more from High Point University than from a big school. I realized I would benefit from HPU for the rest of my life.”

That realization came to fruition many times during Allen’s four years on campus, including the day she accepted her full-time job offer shortly after beginning her senior year.

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It also happened when she crossed the HPU graduation stage. She and her classmates shared celebratory hugs with friends and professors that were captured in photos across campus. She keeps one on her desk at Dimensional Fund Advisors in Texas.

What’s impossible to show in picture-perfect moments, though, are the many steps Allen and her mentors took to get there — and the perseverance built along the way.

Advisors in the Office of Career and Professional Development know the journey. They walk alongside students through the process — students like Allen, as well as Chris Schorn.

Schorn, from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, didn’t hesitate to storm the career office before his big phone interview with Tesla for an internship in Fremont, California.

He knew he’d benefit from their guidance like he had many times before.

Tesla’s Offer Schorn is a junior who double majors in computer science and physics. He’s heeded the advice of Doug Hall, his career advisor in the Office of Career and Professional Development.

“We encourage our students to visit our office early and often,” says Hall.

That can be as early as the moment they step foot on campus as a first-year student. When students begin the process early, they experience many milestones of professional development like Schorn — practicing interview skills, improving their resume, creating a cover letter, networking at career events and landing a big internship, to name a few.

The same day advisors helped Schorn perfect his cover letter, he submitted it with his application to Tesla’s internship program. Two months later, he rushed back into the office.

“I have an interview with Tesla,” Schorn said. “Can you help me prepare?”

“Of course,” said Hall.

Inside his office in Cottrell Hall, HPU’s hub of professional development, Hall coached Schorn through challenging interview questions.

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And during Schorn’s phone interview with Tesla later that day, he realized something.

“I was nervous, but I was prepared,” Schorn says. “I had gone through the steps with the career office. I had talked to my advisor, and we’d completed the mock interview.

Everyone around me was rallying me to help me get the next interview.”

A few days later, Schorn received an offer from Tesla’s digital products team.

He spent the summer after his sophomore year in California learning how to thrive in a fast-paced environment and live independently across the country.

Some days he worked with developers writing code.

Other days, he helped service agents design an internal communication platform.

Employers regularly visit the HPU campus to find impressive talent for their teams.

“Tesla was one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had,” says Schorn. “The experience helped me learn how to work on different projects with different departments, and it helped me envision the career I want in the future.”

Employed or Continuing Education within six months of graduation

Data from the Class of 2018. High Point University follows the National Association of Colleges and Employers first destination reporting protocols.

A Lifelong Investment Allen found career development support all around her at HPU. The Office of Career and Professional Development and her business classes provided resume improvement tips and job interview practice. Through her sales minor, she built the ability to sell herself and her talents, as well as connect with clients and contribute to the company’s mission.

All of it helped Allen navigate the rounds of interviews Dimensional Fund Advisors required for their internship program. And thanks to the Office of Career and Professional Development, she treated each day at her internship like it was a dress rehearsal for a full-time job.

Her supervisors noticed, and when a full-time position within the company opened, Allen applied and landed an interview.

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She returned to HPU with a job offer in her pocket. She graduated with the confidence to launch her career. And today, she’s completing three rotations within the company to find her best fit.

I realized I would

“HPU instilled in me so much more than I ever expected,” says Allen. “It starts in the classroom and spreads into how to handle yourself in meetings, how to have dinner during your job interview, how to send professional emails and how to carry yourself in a way that shows who you are. It is all encompassing.” ▲

get so much more from High Point University than from a big school. I realized HPU would benefit me for the rest of my life.

– Anne Drew Allen, ‘19 Associate at Dimensional Fund Advisors

The NBA’s David Brody, director of global marketing, is one example of industry leaders who come to campus to meet HPU students.

What Employers Say About HPU Students Employers are singing the praises of HPU graduates. Here are a few recent notes they’ve written about the impact of HPU students and graduates on their organizations.

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“We have been lucky to have multiple HPU interns on our Regional Marketing Services team here at IMG College. The students have been motivated, smart, interested and team players. They come to the internship eager to learn and work hard. We challenge our interns here with real-world work that gives them a taste of what it would be like to work in our department full time. HPU students have taken on that challenge and developed the skills necessary to be an asset to our team. We have been very pleased with our interns from High Point and look forward to hiring more in the future.”

“HPU students are well prepared. They are open to new challenges and have a maturity about them that helps them cope with real-life business situations.”

– Brandon Hillis, Director of Regional Marketing Services for IMG in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

– Jeff Eilers, Regional Vice President and Director of the Sales Trainee Program for Mutual of Omaha in Corona, California

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“HPU graduates are coachable and willing to grow, which is why they’ve been phenomenal in our leadership program.”

– Ryan Torchia, Regional Vice President at Gartner in Fort Myers, Florida

“HPU students are selfmotivated and always come to us seeking internship opportunities. They’ve all consistently delivered strong results. They take initiative and bring positive curiosity and intellect.”

– Sam Soloman, University Program Manager for the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina

LIFE SKILLS AND EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT A Top-to-Bottom Career Experience At a career event in Cottrell Hall, the place where employers and recruiters regularly gather on HPU’s campus, Allison Hays took a leap.

The sophomore heard about HPU’s Life Skills and Executive Leadership Development Program with Caffey Distributing, a beverage distribution company in High Point’s neighboring city of Greensboro.

The leaders of the family-owned business were on campus that night, searching for students who could help their company grow.

Hays didn’t know anything about the distribution industry.

But she knew how to make career connections thanks to HPU’s Office of Career and Professional Development. So she dressed in business attire, harnessed the interview skills she’d practiced and shook hands with Caffey’s leaders.

“I’ve learned to push myself outside of my comfort zone,” says Hays. “You have to put yourself out there. That’s what it’s about.”

Rounds of interviews later, Hays was one of four HPU students selected for the program that included everything from riding a distribution route at 2 a.m. to presenting market research to the company’s executive leaders.

“We came full circle in our experience with the company,” says Hays, a marketing major with minors in sales and Spanish. “We experienced how every part of the company works together as a whole.”

Rotating through all aspects of the business while also having a specialized project in their major was the vision of Dr. Bill Gentry, director of HPU’s Office of Career and Professional Development, when he sought to partner with companies to build the program. He knew students would benefit most from a company that provided a 360-degree experience, and he knew the company would equally benefit.

HPU found that in Caffey.

“The Life Skills and Executive Leadership Development Program gives HPU students breadth and depth of knowledge in businesses and organizations,” says Gentry. “Breadth is found through a job rotation across the divisions of an organization like sales, operations, marketing, logistics, human resources, data analytics and others. Depth comes from the project in their area of expertise.”

Hays’ project included conducting in-person surveys with Caffey’s clients about one of their services and presenting her data to the company’s executive leadership.

“Aaron Caffey, my supervisor and my mentor, told me to ‘feel the fear but do the work anyway,’” says Hays. “That was important when I was approaching restaurant managers I had never met during the work day. I had to build their trust and ask them for their time.”

Today, Hays has more experience, more wisdom and more clarity on what she wants for her future.

“I was thankful to learn from and present to the entire executive leadership of Caffey,” she says. “They trusted all of us HPU students to represent their company and present our solutions and recommendations. That made us feel valued. Now, I’m ready for a career with customer and client interaction. I want to get to know the needs of my clients in the future like I did at Caffey.”

“Our company was proud to partner with High Point University and impressed with the caliber of students at HPU,” says CEO Chris Caffey. “While we were able to offer the students a comprehensive look at how a business operates, they provided valuable work and solutions for our business.

In the end, it was a true partnership.” ▲

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POWERING GLOBAL COMPANIES High Point University graduates work at the world’s leading companies. Their passionate pursuits reflect HPU’s promise: When we enroll a student, we commit to their success. Here’s a sample of graduates who are contributing to industries and technologies that impact your world.

John Marsicano, ’15 Magnolia Public Relations Manager

Kyra Hennessey, ’18 Dell EMC Reference Manager

Alex Palmer, ’13 Apple Sr. Software Engineer

Jodi Guglielmi, ’15 People Magazine Writer & Reporter

Ruslan Salakhutdinov, ’01 Apple Director of AI Research

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Mikaela Campbell, ’18

National Basketball Association (NBA) Associate

Stefanie Vorleiter, ’15 Lenovo Global Account Executive

James Jadotte, ’13 Google Program Manager, Staffing Services

Mary Boylan, ’11 Google Channels Specialist

Kayleigh O’Brien, ’15 Dell Technologies Financial Advisor

Katie Manning, ’15 Facebook Product Design Recruiter

Caroline Tucker, ’17

Amazon, Employee Relations Associate Alliance Program

Tyler Yusko, ’13, ’14 Google Engineering Leadership Recruiter

Jillian Koehler, ’11 Google Channels Specialist

Mikayla Browne, ’18

Amazon Senior Human Resources Assistant

Marco Sebastian, ’18 Bloomberg Global Data Analyst

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Life Skills How HPU Prepares Graduates for Continuous Success

You’re a new High Point University student grabbing Starbucks before a study session in Cottrell Hall.

But when you walk into Cottrell’s open atrium, you find more than coffee waiting.

Through the glass walls in this modern facility, you see so much.

Your friends rehearse job interview questions and fine-tune their resumes at the Career Bar in the Office of Career and Professional Development.

Across the lobby, global education advisors guide students to dots on the map. Europe. Asia. South America.

A panel of upperclassmen who have completed internships at the “TODAY” show, NBA and Madison Square Garden Company share advice on landing high-level opportunities with other students during a panel inside the Bauer Executive Education Auditorium.

And the Harris Professional Sales Center is filled with students practicing to sell everything from their own ideas and abilities to a company’s product inside of environments that look like a financial firm, Silicon Valley startup and a health care setting.

What you see are resources to assist you, mentors to guide you, and an environment that inspires you. You see opportunities.

The heart of HPU’s approach to career and professional development is housed here in Cottrell, where students also flock to study and collaborate. But it reverberates throughout campus because of HPU’s focus on life skills.

Life skills is a term used by employers to define the traits they need in new hires other than technical skills.

Technological knowledge is important, but technology changes. What skills do you use to navigate those abrupt, often uncomfortable changes?

Adaptability. Communication.

Collaboration. Motivation.

Coachability.

Life skills.

On the following pages, read examples of real students and real professors who explain how HPU infuses life skills into every class and learning opportunity.

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Caring Coaches Ryan Drakeley met his first full-time employer on High Point University’s campus.

And he and his peers participated in selling competitions across the country.

As a junior, he already had two years of preparation when he walked into the Sales Career Fair, where companies gathered to find their next interns and employees.

By the time he shook hands with a Gartner representative at the Sales Career Fair, Drakeley had developed coachability, as well as what he calls “executive presence.”

Drakeley’s preparation included guidance form his success coach, Pam Francisco, and marketing professors Larry Quinn and Randy Moser. They encouraged him to join the Professional Selling Club and take on leadership positions. He did, and along the way, he discovered that a marketing major and sales minor would provide the career path he wanted.

He landed an internship at Gartner’s Fort Myers, Floridabased headquarters and experienced just how important those traits are to the company’s executives, who extended a post-graduation, full-time job offer to Drakeley at the end the internship.

“They coached me,” says Drakeley. “I went into their offices and said, ‘What can I do to be ready and show my potential?’ They told me to always be aware of what I’m doing well, but also be aware of areas where I can improve. I learned from them to always ask for feedback and be able to acknowledge my strengths and weaknesses.”

Outside of class, Drakeley practiced his sales and marketing skills in Cottrell Hall’s Harris Sales Center, which allows students to record their presentations and analyze them afterward.

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“Gartner loves HPU and keeps coming back to hire students,” says Drakeley. “We develop excellent public speaking and presentation skills at HPU. We know how to conduct ourselves in professional settings. We have executive presence, and the leaders at Gartner appreciate that.”

Today, Drakeley is building his career at a company he first met while at HPU, where he was prepared to succeed in the corporate world.

“Choosing HPU has paid off tremendously,” says Drakeley. “I was able to have a lot of experiences outside the classroom, whether it be through leadership positions or internships, and I secured a full-time job before beginning my senior year. With the help of the sales program and my fantastic professors, I was always two steps ahead of where the process should be and didn’t have to experience job search anxiety.”

HPU’S C-SUITE SURVEY ON LIFE SKILLS Employers consistently report that new hires don’t work out for reasons such as motivation, emotional intelligence, temperament and coachability. The study featured here, conducted by High Point University, is one example of these reports. HPU faculty listen to the demands of the marketplace and prepare students to excel in the areas that matter most.

When you hire recent college graduates, what are the reasons they fail?

Motivation

38%

Emotional Intelligence

11% 29% 9% 13%

Technical Competence

Coachability

Temperament Expand to view more —u

Motivation

Emotional Intelligence

Coachability

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Leading organizations understand your surroundings shape your behavior.

Emotional intelligence is defined as the capacity to be aware of, to control and to express one’s emotions in order to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathically. In the working world, employers rank a lack of emotional intelligence as the second highest reason new hires fail.

The ability to accept constructive learn from it and implement it is a many employers cite new gradu lacking. Failing to be coachable p small and large-scale developm

HOW WE TEACH IT

If you want to be coachable, yo to practice being coached. From advisors, to faculty advisors, peer and even club sports, which have professional coaches, there is no sh opportunities for constructive fe

At HPU, an inspiring environment is part of a strategic effort to surround students with energy, enthusiasm and the lift they need to walk and act with purpose.

It’s not about beauty; it’s about intentional living.

HOW WE TEACH IT Historical sculptures and inspirational quotes purposefully line HPU’s Kester International Promenade as a source of motivation for students as they make their way across campus.

“When your values are clear to you, making decisions becomes easier.”

– Roy E. Disney

1924 PRIME

HPU provides students with four years of career preparation inside 1924 Prime, HPU’s fine dining restaurant and learning laboratory.

460

ACRE CLASSROOM

Elements were intentionally placed on campus to present learning opportunities at every turn.

The HPU experience addresses the need for students to be able to properly express their thoughts and feelings while simultaneously adjusting to the thoughts and feeling of others on their team.

PRESIDENT’S SEMINAR This required course for all freshmen is taught by HPU President and serial entrepreneur, business leadership consultant and author, Dr. Nido Qubein. In their first semester, students learn about relational capital, the art and science of persuasion, communication skills and more of the life skills that help ensure students grow their emotional intelligence.

110,000

HOURS SERVED

1,500

WHY IT’S IMPORTA

HOW WE TEACH

SUCCESS COACHES

Nationally, 50 percent of students enter college undecided on their major. With the help of a suc students utilize Project Discovery’s eight light bu to discover their passion and achieve their goals

CAREER DEVELOPM

Career Advisors guide stude the resources offered i Center — the headquart of support and guidan students to success after

ACCESS TO INNOVA

VOLUNTEERS Expand to view more —u

hability

Technical Competence

Temperament

T’S IMPORTANT

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Responding to shifts in the global marketplace, students must be ready for the world as it is going to be, not as it is.

Having access to the technical components required for a student’s career choice is crucial in their job preparation.

Students with a growth mindset become better prepared for the world as it’s going to be. They’re knowledge seekers. They work hard, they fail, they learn from their mistakes, and thus, they grow.

W WE TEACH IT

to be coachable, you have being coached. From career aculty advisors, peer mentors, b sports, which have their own oaches, there is no shortage of es for constructive feedback.

ent of students enter college major. With the help of a success coach, ject Discovery’s eight light bulb moments ssion and achieve their goals.

Relevant majors such as physical therapy, engineering, finance and many others prepare students to meet market demands, along with faculty who are real-world practitioners. In addition, campus is equipped with the latest technology and state-of-the-art facilities.

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING The Webb School of Engineering houses majors in computer and electrical engineering, as well as computer science. With computer science, students also choose from three concentrations: cybersecurity, software and systems, and visual computing.

TV STUDIO

The Nido R. Qubein School of Communication invested more than $1 million into renovating and updating the television studio that was built in 2008.

R DEVELOPMENT

Career Advisors guide students through the resources offered in the Career Center — the headquarters for years of support and guidance that lead students to success after graduation.

TO INNOVATORS

10

ACADEMIC SCHOOLS • David R. Hayworth College of Arts and Sciences • School of Art and Design • Earl N. Phillips School of Business • Nido R. Qubein School of Communication • Stout School of Education • Congdon School of Health Sciences • Webb School of Engineering • Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy • Wanek School of Undergraduate Sciences • Norcross Graduate School

HOW WE TEACH IT

STUDY ABROAD HPU offers 79 innovative programs, including a short term “Maymester.”

DI

ME

ESIG

D

CESS CHES

HOW WE TEACH IT

That’s a big deal in a world that changes rapidly.

And at HPU, this big-deal concept is even bigger.

Students run a graphic design agency and work together to meet real-world client objectives.

N

accept constructive criticism, nd implement it is a skill that oyers cite new graduates as ng to be coachable prevents large-scale development.

ASCENSION

336

This public relations agency completely run by students utilizes their majors in a practical setting.

“When people are in a fixed mindset, they believe their basic talents, abilities and intelligence are fixed traits — they have a certain amount, and that’s it. But, in a growth mindset, people understand that talent and abilities can be developed through hard work, learning new strategies, and help from others.

This is an empowering belief.”

– Carol Dweck, Stanford Professor and Author of “Mindset”

preparing students for the world as it is going to be High Point University graduates have achieved success at some of the world’s largest organizations. In their own words, the graduates on these pages provide a glimpse of the ways HPU prepared them.

Discover more success stories at www.highpoint.edu/outcomes

% 97

Employed OR Continuing Education

within six months of graduation Data from the Class of 2018. High Point University follows the National Association of Colleges and Employers first destination reporting protocols.

“My mentors at HPU helped me understand my academic potential and what I can achieve if I challenge myself every day.”

Caroline Tucker, ’17 Amazon Employee Relations, Associate Alliance Program

“HPU instilled in me the utmost confidence.

The campus environment taught me not to take anything for granted. In places like HPU and Google, the sky is the limit for those who work hard. I put the life skills I gained at HPU into practice daily.”

Tyler Yusko, ’13, ’14 Google, Engineering Leadership Recruiter

“I learned life lessons from the mentors I gained during my time at HPU. During fall break, I participated in the HPU in the City program, and we received a tour of Bloomberg from an alumnus who works there.

That’s how I was exposed to Bloomberg and how I recognized my place in the company.”

Marco Sebastian, ’18 Bloomberg, Global Data Analyst

“When I interned with organizations like USA Track and Field, Under Armour and IMG College, I was up against a field of qualified candidates from large universities. What set me apart was the real-world experience I received at HPU and the attitude they instilled within me to never be afraid of a challenge.”

Mikaela Campbell, ’18 NBA, Associate

“I wouldn’t be where I am without my faculty mentors. It’s one of the many things I love about HPU.” Mary Funke, ’13 Duke Health, Resident Doctor

“HPU gave me the confidence to seek a variety of learning opportunities from people all over the world.”

James Jadotte, ’13 Google, Program Manager in Staffing Services

“HPU prepared me for law school and my current job through experiential learning opportunities. The university provides students with so many opportunities to conduct research, network with others in their field and grow as a professional.”

Nikki Sanford, ’13 BakerHostetler, Patent Attorney

“HPU always prepared me for the real world, even when I didn’t realize it. That includes guidance from my professors, living and learning on a campus that embraces transformation, and gaining experiences inside and outside of the classroom. I graduated with confidence and have never felt intimidated in the workplace.”

Amy Stamm, ’14 Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Public Affairs Specialist

The Purpose of 1924 Prime Ally Pratapas dialed her mom’s number after she left the second round of her internship interview.

“Mom!” an out-of-breath Pratapas said. “This is why HPU students have 1924 Prime.”

For weeks, Pratapas competed in rounds of interviews for a spot in HPU’s Life Skills and Executive Leadership Development Program with Caffey Distributing, a beverage distribution company.

The program, designed by Caffey executives and HPU’s Career and Professional Development Office, rotates students through every aspect of the business while the students also complete a project specific to their major.

Pratapas was ready for the opportunity. Her second interview included dinner at Caffey’s corporate headquarters, where she found herself sitting next to the company’s president.

That’s when she understood, “This is what 1924 Prime prepares us for.”

1924 Prime is HPU’s fine dining restaurant and learning laboratory. For all four years of their HPU education, students have access to the facility to practice job interviews over dinner, learn proper etiquette and experience international cuisine and cultures.

next to the company’s president, who asked me questions like, ‘Tell me about the last time you failed.’ I had to answer those questions in a professional manner while I ate, and my HPU education came full circle.”

Pratapas went on to complete marketing projects in employment recruitment and branding, and she created an entirely new kit of marketing materials for the company.

“During my final presentation to executives, I decided to get some of the materials I designed for Caffey professionally printed so I could give them to every person in my presentation,” Pratapas said. “My strategic communication classes taught me to think outside the box and stand out.

I wanted to give them something valuable to show for my work.”

Her approach worked, and today, the company utilizes what Pratapas built for them. The company ordered 1,000 copies of a brochure she designed for them.

“My time at HPU really set me up for success,” says Pratapas.

“When I came to HPU, I was shy and unsure of what I wanted to do. Now, I’m a university ambassador and in a sorority.

I work with my professors in the Nido R. Qubein School of Communication and have great relationships with them. I feel like the sky is the limit.”

It prepared Pratapas, a senior from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to excel during her interview, just as it has prepared many other HPU students.

“During the dinner at Caffey, we weren’t just casually eating and talking about the weather,” says Pratapas, a strategic communication major with a minor in sales. “I was sitting

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When Employers Notice the ‘HPU Difference’ Anna Desbiaux knows that employers can train anyone to use their software.

“But they can’t train you to have strong character, to build rapport with other people and to present yourself well,” says Desbiaux. “The experiences HPU provides teach us to do those things as if we’ve already been in the workforce for 10 years.”

Desbiaux, a senior, has gained much experience both on and off campus during her time at HPU. For three years, she has worked in the Office of Student Employment, which ensures every student job on campus is treated as a professional, resume-boosting experience.

She welcomes students looking to build their skill sets into the Office of Student Employment, and she remembers what it was like to be in their shoes.

“Sometimes new students walk in and don’t yet know what questions to ask,” she says. “My time in the office helped me understand how to listen to them and figure out what resources will benefit them.”

Another real-world position Desbiaux holds on campus is in the HPU Survey Research Center (SRC), which conducts public opinion polling across North Carolina.

Researchers on campus provide interesting questions, and student workers call individuals across the state to collect their opinions.

“It can be very uncomfortable cold-calling someone, but I’ve learned to approach them in a way that makes them want to talk to me,” says Desbiaux. “Through the SRC, I’ve developed professional cold-calling skills and learned to quickly build rapport with people I don’t know.”

In addition to campus work, Desbiaux has regularly sought guidance from the Office of Career and Professional Development to elevate her resume and cover letter while finding internship and career opportunities. Her combined experience made her a prime candidate for nationally competitive internship programs, including the Reynolds American sales internship program, where she’s working this summer.

After career advisors encouraged her to apply for the program, the company conducted a phone interview with Desbiaux, then flew her to Detroit, Michigan, for an interview at their corporate office. She embraced it as her moment to shine.

“I got the internship thanks to my mentors who coached me at HPU,” Desbiaux says. “It can be hard for college students to go into an interview and impress employers if they haven’t built any experience. That’s the HPU difference.

I was able to answer questions about the professional experiences I’ve built, including times when I’ve struggled or overcome challenges.

“The Reynolds American interviewers told me none of their other interns were able to provide these types of answers. HPU provides students with opportunities to grow and learn from and then become better students and, one day, better leaders.”

“It can be hard for college students to go into an interview and impress employers if they haven’t built any experience. That’s the HPU difference. I was able to answer questions about the professional experiences I’ve built, including times when I’ve struggled or overcome challenges.”

– Anna Desbiaux, Senior Reynolds American Intern and HPU Survey Research Center Student Employee

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extraordinary education

The Power of a Growth Mindset Onward and upward.

Those are the words of encouragement Dr. Meredith Malburne-Wade, director of HPU’s Office of Fellowships and Awards, shared often with Yasmene Dergham throughout her HPU journey.

When Dergham graduated in May, she took the mantra with her to Atlanta, Georgia, where she is working as a Humanity in Action Fellow with people from around the globe to promote human rights, diversity and active citizenship.

The opportunity is one of many fellowships she secured during her time at HPU, where she studied abroad twice on international scholarships, conducted undergraduate research and prepared for a career in international relations.

Along the way, mentors like Malburne-Wade pushed her to apply for more than 15 international fellowship and scholarship programs. Dergham scored major victories, but only after learning to see losses as opportunities for growth.

science, minored in history and developed a dream to work in diplomacy and conflict resolution.

“From my HPU network of resources, I learned that research can be conducted and applied to all fields — not just the sciences,” says Dergham. “I learned to deliver an elevator pitch on my research, I gained a lot of interview experience for the fellowships I applied to, and I greatly improved my writing.”

In essence, Dergham developed a growth mindset — a term coined by Stanford Professor Carol Dweck that has become a mantra on HPU’s campus. Students learn that failing is part of the process. They learn to keep moving “onward and upward.”

“Life skills are things you develop but may not realize it at the time, and it doesn’t always happen in a formal setting,” says Dergham. “But the next time you’re in a situation where you don’t know what to do and there are no instructions written down, you remember the challenges you’ve overcome. You realize you can overcome this, too.

“That’s tapping into your life skills.”

“The first time I applied for the Boren Scholarship, I was named an alternate,” says Dergham. “I was devastated because, ultimately, I wasn’t selected as a recipient. But Dr. Malburne-Wade said, ‘Hey, you’re just a sophomore competing with juniors and seniors. Focus on the fact that you were considered and how you can use that to your advantage to be a stronger candidate next year.’ She was right. The next year I applied again and was awarded the Boren Scholarship.”

Dergham landed additional, prestigious opportunities.

The Benjamin A. Gilman International Education Scholarship sent her to Morocco during her junior year to study Arabic and international relations. Then the Boren Scholarship sent her to Jordan, where the dialect of Arabic is completely different.

Through the challenge of learning to communicate in another part of the world for the second time, Dergham remembered Malburne-Wade’s advice — “onward and upward.”

“I pledged to speak only in Arabic while I was in Jordan,” says Dergham. “I had to process myself and my emotions in a language that once felt familiar in Morocco. Eventually, I showed myself I could do it.”

At HPU, she conducted Middle Eastern historical research, double majored in international relations and political

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Career Connections, Executive Education High Point University took Marco Sebastian, ‘18, to New York City to begin his career — literally.

During the HPU in the City fall and spring break programs, students travel to metropolitan areas such as New York City and Washington, D.C., for a week of career exploration.

At each stop, HPU’s alumni and parent network provides career connections and behind-the-scenes experiences at major companies such as Bloomberg, Google and the United Nations.

Sebastian came from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, to study computer science at HPU, where experiential learning opportunities surrounded him.

“There were always chances to get involved and push myself academically, professionally and personally, whether I was in the classroom or doing extracurricular activities,” he says.

During fall break of his senior year, Sebastian joined the HPU in the City trip to New York. That’s where he met executives at Bloomberg. He was inspired by the company’s phenomenal success and decided to pursue a career there. After he graduated in 2018, he joined Bloomberg in New York as a Global Data Analyst.

Like Sebastian, HPU students take advantage of opportunities to connect with industry executives and global leaders.

On campus, students learn directly from corporate executives such as Steven Tanger, CEO of Tanger Outlets; Rob Siegfried, CEO and founder of The Siegfried Group; and Karen Narwold, executive vice president, chief administrative officer, and general counsel at Albemarle Corporation.

Career and Internship Expos bring a wide variety of employers to campus for large-scale events, while Focus Fairs in specific majors provide small group opportunities for networking.

Employers also regularly visit the Office of Career and Professional Development, where they answer questions from students about working in their field and provide valuable advice on how to break into the industry.

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extraordinary education

More opportunities are available outside of campus, too.

In addition to HPU in the City, the High Point Washington program is a semester-long partnership with The Washington Center, where students complete an internship in their field and learn from influential leaders in the nation’s capital. Media Fellows travel to Los Angeles to learn from entertainment industry executives. And the list goes on.

The experiences provide access to career connections.

But they also provide students with the opportunity to continuously interact with executive leaders throughout their four years at HPU.

“There were so many opportunities to reach out and speak with professionals in a wide variety of fields,” says Sebastian. “No matter the occasion, I always learned life lessons from the variety of mentors at HPU. I learned such valuable skills from stepping outside of my comfort zone, and so can everyone who comes to HPU.”

Entry-level skills change every few years; it’s the habits of learning to learn and navigating the ambiguity of a career that will prove most valuable to undergraduates in the long run.

–Jeffrey Selingo,

The Washington Post, “College Students Say They Want a Degree for a Job. Are They Getting What They Want?”

Employers consistently report that new hires don’t work out for reasons such as coachability and motivation rather than technical competence. The national news story above and the longitudinal study featured in the website link below are examples of these reports. HPU faculty listen to the demands of the marketplace and prepare students to excel in the areas that matter most.

To discover more about how HPU’s holistic approach to instilling students with life skills, please visit:

www.highpoint.edu/lifeskills

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Growing HPU’s Family, Campus and Mission

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extraordinary education

When High Point University President Nido Qubein arrived in 2005, he knew the landscape of higher education was changing.

But as someone who migrated to America as a teenager with little knowledge of English, then went on to become a sought-after communicator, business consultant and leader, Qubein is a change embracer.

To some, the story seems to simply go like this: Qubein arrived in 2005, and the rest is history.

For Qubein and university leadership, though, the process of transforming the university meant strategic planning and decisions grounded in sound principles.

For the last 14 years, HPU leaders have partnered with students, parents, alumni and supporters to make thousands of important decisions.

Blessed with an abundance of growth and transformational leadership, High Point University’s story is one of strength and continued expansion.

That’s why the HPU of today has grown from just 90 acres to more than 460 acres, the student body has exploded from 1,450 students to 5,200 students, facilities have grown from 28 to 122, and the university has an incredibly healthy operating budget of $300 million.

And that’s why the HPU of tomorrow will be even stronger.

Education Focused on Life Skills Throughout HPU’s transformational process, academics have remained at the forefront of growth and development.

HPU Provost Dr. Dennis Carroll and a task force of faculty continuously examine the curriculum from every angle.

They ask themselves, “What are the most significant career occupations of the 21st Century?”

The answer to that question has produced new academic schools, majors and programs.

In fall 2018, the Webb School of Engineering was established as HPU’s 10th academic school overall and the sixth new academic school since the university’s growth began in 2005. The school honors Mark and Jerri Webb, successful business owners and strong HPU advocates. Mark Webb is a 1983 alumnus and native of High Point. He owns and operates Interstate Foam and Supply Inc. in Conover, North Carolina. The Webbs live in Charlotte, North Carolina, and their son, Connor Mosack, is a sophomore at HPU. The founding dean, Dr. Michael Oudshoorn, is leading the school, in which students can now enroll and major in computer science with three concentrations within the degree: cybersecurity, software and systems, and visual computing.

Oudshoorn has more than three decades of teaching in higher education and is also working to develop additional majors and programs within the school.

HPU President Nido Qubein, pictured on page 22 and in the bottom left photo on this page, is a frequent presence on campus, from addressing thousands of students and parents at major events throughout the year, to interacting daily with students across campus. In the bottom right photo on this page, students gather outside the Hayworth Fine Arts Center after attending Qubein’s Freshman Seminar on Life Skills.

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“Dr. Oudshoorn’s experience in the area of computer engineering and his recognized involvement with ABET will ensure a high quality program for our students,” says Carroll. “The creation of HPU’s School of Engineering reflects the university’s commitment to providing programs that prepare students for a changing world and a technologically advanced landscape.”

Oudshoorn knows the timing is right.

The Wanek School of Undergraduate Sciences is named in honor of Todd Wanek, the CEO of Ashley Furniture, and Karen Wanek, the president of Superior Fresh. This $65 million, 128,000-square-foot academic facility will be home to HPU’s flourishing science programs in biology, chemistry, physics, biochemistry and neuroscience.

Since 2004, he has been a member of ABET, the nongovernmental organization that accredits college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology.

“The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts steady growth in all engineering and computing disciplines for the foreseeable future, and the new programs will permit us to address these employment and societal needs,” he says.

Construction on the Wanek School of Undergraduate Sciences continued taking shape with plans to be completed this fall. The facility is named in honor of Todd Wanek, the CEO of Ashley Furniture, and Karen Wanek, the president of Superior Fresh. This $65 million, 128,000-square-foot academic facility will be home to HPU’s flourishing science programs in biology, chemistry, physics, biochemistry and neuroscience.

Alumni Legacy Fills New Arena Inside HPU’s $120 million Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel are the legacies of three impressive HPU alumni couples:

Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel In 2017, the HPU Board of Trustees proposed and unanimously voted to honor HPU President Nido Qubein and First Lady Mariana Qubein by naming the new basketball and conference facility the Nido & Mariana Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel.

Both Nido and Mariana Qubein are proud graduates of High Point College who made the city of High Point their home. Since 2005, Qubein has faithfully led the unprecedented growth and development on HPU’s campus.

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extraordinary education

Tubby and Donna Smith Court Tubby Smith captained the High Point College basketball team and earned all-conference honors as a senior before graduating in 1973.

The Maryland native also met his wife, Donna, while they were both students on campus. She was the university’s first African-American homecoming queen.

Tubby Smith went on to lead an illustrious coaching career before becoming HPU’s head coach. The Smiths contributed $1 million toward HPU’s growth. Read more about him on page 90.

The David and Amy Smith Panther Club Suite David and Amy Smith graduated from High Point College in 1981 and 1984, respectively. The Smiths’ daughter, Ansley, graduated from High Point University in 2013, and their son, Charles, in 2015.

The Smiths are avid HPU Panthers fans.

In 2018, they donated $600,000 to support HPU’s growth. The David and Amy Smith Panther Club Suite will be named in honor of the family’s success in business and their commitment to HPU.

It is under construction next to the $120 million Congdon Hall, which opened in fall 2017 and has attracted nearly 500 new graduate students to become physical therapists, physician assistants and pharmacists.

The Caine Conservatory is under construction next to the Wanek School of Undergraduate Sciences. The conservatory will provide 15,000 square feet of space for students and faculty to conduct botanical research and propagate plants for the Mariana H. Qubein Arboretum and Gardens. A classroom, working greenhouse, new eatery and planting display space for the community at large will be housed in the facility.

The Don and Teresa Caine Conservatory will provide 15,000 square feet of space for students and faculty to conduct botanical research and propagate plants for the Mariana H. Qubein Arboretum and Gardens.

Breaking Ground on the Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel In addition to setting enrollment records, another milestone in HPU history took place in fall 2018.

Ground was officially broken for the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel during Fall Family Weekend. More than 2,000 HPU parents, students and community members gathered to mark the occasion.

“The HPU Board of Trustees unanimously voted to recognize HPU President Nido Qubein and HPU First Lady Mariana Qubein by naming this facility in their honor,” said Bob Brown, vice chairman of the HPU Board of Trustees, during the ceremony. “Naming this facility in their honor is a symbol of gratitude for their profound vision, leadership, service, philanthropy and love of this great university.”

The Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel at a glance: n $120 million total cost n 4,500 arena seats n 2,500 conference center seats n Home to the men’s and women’s basketball teams n Designed to host major events, speakers and conferences n 30 to 40 hotel rooms with dining facilities and meeting rooms n Slated for completion in 2020

Several HPU family members ceremoniously broke ground on the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel. Pictured from left to right are the Rev. Dr. Jeff Patterson, senior pastor of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church; HPU Provost Dr. Dennis Carroll; Bob Brown, vice chairman of the HPU Board of Trustees; HPU President Nido Qubein; HPU First Lady Mariana Qubein; Orlando “Tubby” Smith, HPU men’s basketball coach; HPU Athletic Director Dan Hauser; DeUnna Hendrix, HPU women’s basketball coach; Lyndsey Clos, president of HPU’s Student Government Association; and Chris Dudley, HPU’s senior vice president for Institutional Advancement.

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The Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel is under construction and scheduled for completion in 2020. Visit www.highpoint.edu/arena for updates and a live view of construction progress.

The $120 million facility is now well underway on HPU’s main campus at the corner of Lexington Avenue and University Parkway. It will house the HPU men’s and women’s basketball programs, and it will be a venue for major events, speakers, concerts, entertainment, academic symposia and recreational activities.

The Qubein Arena will seat 4,500 spectators and include luxury suites, locker rooms, staff offices, concession stands, a merchandising area, media suite, film room, press conference room, weight room, athletic training room, hospitality area, high tech audio and video equipment, ticket office and practice gym.

Intramural fields that were relocated to make way for the Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel also received a complete makeover. Students now enjoy new intramural sport fields installed on the corner of Centennial Street and International Avenue. The fields are 96,000 square feet in size and feature stadium lighting for nighttime use.

Solid Strategies = Solid Success

The Conference Center will seat 2,500 visitors and will be a space for growing undergraduate and graduate programs, student groups and community organizations. It will have the ability to be subdivided into smaller venues with lighting, sound and video for state-of-the-art presentations. It will also support the event management major.

Accolades have been collected along HPU’s journey of exponential growth. For example, the National Association of College and University Business Offices (NACUBO) conducted a study of universities that experienced the largest net asset growth from 2005 to 2015. HPU ranked second in the nation in this study with nearly 14 percent net asset growth.

A small, executive hotel will be located adjacent to the conference center to support a proposed hospitality management program and accommodate a growing number of requests by organizations who specifically want to tour

HPU has also received impressive rankings from trusted higher education sources, such as the Princeton Review’s “Best 384 Colleges” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges.” In U.S. News & World Report, HPU is named No. 1 Best Regional College in the South for the last seven years and Most Innovative for the last four years. The university received a perfect overall score of 100 in the ranking.

How you change is how you succeed.

Supporters of HPU have jokingly remarked, “HPU has nowhere else to grow.”

– HPU President Nido Qubein

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the campus and experience HPU’s unique educational environment and culture. The hotel will provide 30 to 40 residential rooms with dining facilities and meeting space.

extraordinary education

But Qubein’s reply reminds them that HPU isn’t finished.

“How you change is how you succeed,” says Qubein. “But achieving your vision doesn’t mean you’ve reached the end of the line. It simply means that you’ve come to a new starting place. While we are proud of the recognition, our

But students and parents find more than that. The real reason thousands are flocking to HPU each year lies in the university’s mission and values — the core of HPU’s culture.

goal is not to achieve high rankings. Our goal is to positively impact the hearts and minds of the students who choose to attend HPU. By design, the university’s call to action — ‘Choose to be extraordinary’ — has no definitive conclusion. Excellence is to be pursued, not obtained.”

Myles Markel, from Attleboro, Massachusetts, discovered HPU on U.S. News and World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” list.

By November of his senior year in high school, he had visited campus and committed to attending HPU.

A new starting place, indeed — this year welcomed the largest group of new students in HPU’s history. More than 1,500 new students joined HPU in fall 2018.

“The academics are great here, as well as the campus,” said Markel, a neuroscience major. “I was sure I wanted to be here.”

The university has also grown to 5,200 total students, the largest total enrollment in history. HPU students hail from all 50 states and 56 countries.

His father, Glenn Markel, said the university’s transformation impressed the family.

With $2 billion invested since 2005, the HPU family continues to move forward with faithful courage. Today, students come for a long list of reasons. Impressive academics. Life skills. Valuesbased learning. A phenomenal environment. A family legacy.

“The academics are impressive, the campus is pristine and his neuroscience major seems like a very dynamic program,” Markel said. “We know HPU is constantly growing, and that’s important to us. We can’t wait to come back and see the new Wanek School of Undergraduate Sciences when it’s complete.” ▲

The beautiful campus, the innovative programs and the state-of-the-art facilities are attention-grabbing; that’s true.

HPU GROWTH

Undergraduate Enrollment (Traditional Students)

Full-time Faculty

1,450

Square Footage

Buildings on Campus (new and acquired) Total Positions

2018 GROWTH

650,000

259%

5,200

203%

108 327

Campus Size (acres) 91

2004

405%

460

515%

4 million

455%

22 122 385

Economic Impact $160.4 M

Operating and Capital Budget

$41 million

Annual United Way Giving

$28,000

Study Abroad Programs

402%

1,934 $765 million

377%

$300 million $247,500

5 79

632% 784% 1,480% highpoint.edu

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ACC E S S TO INNOVATORS Who You Spend Time with is Who You Become

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The HPUMinds student group regularly worked with Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, HPU’s Innovator in Residence, throughout the last several years to build a self-driving vehicle.

“If you want to be great, walk side by side and hand in hand with great people.”

High Point University President Nido Qubein received this advice from his mother when he was a child, and it transformed his life. He’s never forgotten it.

That’s evident throughout HPU’s campus. Qubein shares this lesson with all freshmen in his President’s Seminar on Life Skills. It’s furthered by distinguished faculty and caring staff who serve as heroes, models and mentors.

Then, it appears on the Kester International Promenade, where 24 sculptures of history’s celebrated leaders can be found. From Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi, to Amelia Earhart and Mother Teresa — they serve as a constant reminder that greatness can’t be intimidated by naysayers.

They mirror HPU’s call to action: “Choose to be extraordinary!”

It all sets the stage for another kind of titan found frequently on HPU’s campus — the living, breathing, global thought leaders of today.

HPU’s Access to Innovators program has evolved into a robust lineup of change agents who come to coach, mentor and work with students on campus.

In the last year, students across campus learned from the following: Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, HPU’s Innovator in Residence; Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph, HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence; ABC “Nightline” Co-Anchor Byron Pitts, HPU’s Journalist in Residence; Karen Jacobsen, known as “The GPS Girl” and the Australian voice of Siri, HPU’s Global

Artist in Residence; Bob Ryan, former Boston Globe sports writer and HPU’s Sports Reporter in Residence; and Scott McKain, best-selling author, business consultant and trainer who serves as HPU’s Corporate Educator in Residence.

The list is long, but students like Michael Welter, ’18, know them well.

Working with Apple’s First Engineer A physics major from Ohio, Welter spent the majority of his time at HPU leading a team of students called HPUMinds.

While working with Wozniak, who they’ve come to know as “the Woz,” they set out to build a self-driving vehicle.

The project was no easy feat, but they were working with the co-founder of Apple Computer and one of the brightest minds of the 20th Century.

So they started with a golf cart and eventually turned it into an autonomous vehicle that could navigate a path with a few simple instructions from an iPad. During the last three years, Wozniak has participated in on-campus brainstorming sessions and conference calls with the group. He also joined campus-wide question-and-answer events in the Hayworth Fine Arts Center for hundreds of students during his visits to HPU. It culminated in an experience that required Welter and his teammates to grow and persist through troubleshooting and unexpected challenges.

“Working with Steve Wozniak gave us the confidence to test our limits, and it taught us to use our passions to strengthen our community and to solve problems,” Welter says.

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students with invaluable resources, including engaged and compassionate professors, clean and safe dorms and innovative classrooms paired with abundant support and motivation. HPU teaches us to see change as opportunity, to address challenges as invitations for greatness, and to search for the extraordinary buried within the seemingly ordinary.”

Students elsewhere on campus know all about the transformational process, too.

In the spring, HPUMinds finalized their efforts and presented the vehicle on campus for other students to see.

Networking with the Netflix Co-Founder

With the tap of a screen, Welter brought the driverless vehicle forward. It navigated turns on its own and stopped in front of the group members’ feet.

To students in HPU’s Belk Entrepreneurship Center, Marc Randolph, HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence, is both a mastermind and a friend.

Welter smiled and took a deep breath. In that moment, there was a sense of finality.

On one hand, he helped start Netflix — the world’s most well-known streaming platform.

“Developing HPUMinds and working on The Woz Project has inarguably been the most demanding yet fulfilling challenge of my college journey,” says Welter. “It has broadened my life perspective, sculpted my career path and enhanced my academic experiences by demonstrating the real-world applications of my education.”

On the other hand, his willing-to-listen demeanor shows students that he’s approachable and ready to coach them.

Working with someone like Wozniak on a project as big as building a self-driving vehicle taught students more lessons than they can count. For Welter, the biggest lesson of all was about transformation.

“The transition from a factory-standard, electric golf cart to an autonomous self-driving vehicle is a perfect analogy for how HPU molds its students,” says Welter. “HPU provides

Students in HPU’s Professional Selling Club and Entrepreneurship Club pitch their ideas to Randolph for his feedback. So do students in other majors across campus, such as the Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy. Problem solvers like Randolph know the entrepreneurial spirit applies to every industry.

“The only way to figure out if your idea is a good one is by taking a risk,” Randolph told HPU students during a recent visit to campus. “You have to do something, try something, make something, build something or sell something. You learn more in one day of doing than in a year of practicing your speech or writing your business plan.”

Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak gave us the confidence to test our limits, use our passions to strengthen our community and solve problems.

– Michael Welter, ’18, President of HPUMinds student group that partnered with Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak to build an autonomous vehicle

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HPU’S FACULTY IN RESIDENCE Visit www.highpoint.edu/innovators for more information on the global leaders who educate and inspire students to dream big.

INNOVATOR IN RESIDENCE Steve Wozniak Apple Computer Co-Founder ENTREPRENEUR IN RESIDENCE Marc Randolph Netflix Co-Founder For HPU students, Randolph’s guidance changes the way they view their future.

Derek Kucharski, a freshman entrepreneur and sales major, is currently working on his own business idea. Kucharski says the opportunities at HPU, such as having Randolph as HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence, prepare him to succeed in many ways.

“The opportunity to work with Marc Randolph is highly unique, and you can’t get this anywhere else,” said Kucharski. “To hear from somebody who has the experience, knowledge and insight that he has is so impactful.

Especially because I’m trying to build my own business one day and I’m currently producing a product, it’s hard to keep my eye on the prize.

But to learn from someone who has built great businesses and gone through those hardships gives me the hope to succeed.”

Professors like Kathy Elliott, director of the Belk Center for Entrepreneurship, understand the impact that someone like Wozniak and Randolph have on students.

“I have seen both Steve Wozniak and Marc Randolph ask students questions that make them think differently — questions about how they quantify their success or measure the value of their business,” says Elliott. “Marc Randolph always reinforces that students must get sales rather than just getting wrapped up in nurturing their business plan.

“I know by the way Marc interacts with them that he wants them to move forward,” Elliott says. “The co-founder of Netflix and the cofounder of Apple care about our students and have changed their own beliefs in themselves.” ▲

SPORTS EXECUTIVE IN RESIDENCE Cynt Marshall CEO of the Dallas Mavericks and former Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at AT&T JOURNALIST IN RESIDENCE Byron Pitts Co-Anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline” CORPORATE EDUCATOR IN RESIDENCE Scott McKain Best-Selling Author, Business Consultant and Trainer BROADCASTER IN RESIDENCE Joe Michaels Former Director of the NBC “TODAY” show for 22 years GLOBAL ARTIST IN RESIDENCE Karen Jacobsen The “GPS Girl” and Australian voice of Siri SPORTS REPORTER IN RESIDENCE Bob Ryan Former Sportswriter for The Boston Globe; known as “the Quintessential American Sportswriter” MEDIA ENTREPRENEUR IN RESIDENCE Betty Liu NYSE Executive Vice Chairman and Founder of Radiate — the executive leadership and coaching website SALES PROFESSIONAL IN RESIDENCE Larry Quinn Director of HPU’s Professional Selling Program; former National Sales Training Manager at Xerox; former Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Thomson Professional Publishing Group and Duplex Printing Corp.

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GUIDANCE. EXPERIENCE. OUTCOMES.

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The Nido R. Qubein School of Communication provides students with resources to commence impressive careers.

Byron Pitts, co-anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline” and HPU’s Journalist in Residence, works with junior Logan Carter.

He approached the news desk inside the Nido R. Qubein School of Communication TV studio and leaned on the edge. He shook hands with the student anchors seated on the opposite side, introduced himself, got their names and dived into getting to know them.

Goldberg has already completed a successful internship with NBC’s Orlando affiliate WESH 2 News. She says that HPU gave her the skills to come into the internship prepared with top-notch writing, professionalism and vast knowledge of the newsroom. Working with Pitts furthered her confidence.

He chatted with them about their experiences, their career goals and welcomed their questions. He only paused when the cameras began, and the student director gave him a wave.

“I’m thankful to be at a university that allows us to learn and network with some of the world’s most influential journalists,” says Goldberg. “I will forever cherish the advice Mr. Pitts gave us for the rest of my journalistic career.”

Turning toward the cameras, he demonstrated how a journalist takes their cue.

Sitting alongside Goldberg at the anchor desk that day and also working with Pitts was Logan Carter. The TV studio is a space in which he’s both familiar and comfortable.

“Hi. I’m Byron Pitts, co-anchor of ABC’s ‘Nightline’ and High Point University’s Journalist in Residence.”

The students at the desk were his audience — his mentees.

Their mentor was an Emmy award-winning journalist.

HPU’s Journalist in Residence Pitts joined HPU as Journalist in Residence in 2018. Having covered national news stories and in-depth features for ABC, Pitts brings more than 20 years of experience into his mentorship role with HPU.

Meeting Media Mentors Carter is a senior sport communication major who, for the last year, has anchored a successful sports talk show called “Game of Inches” out of the School of Communication’s state-of-the-art TV studio.

He began his show under the guidance of HPU’s Broadcaster in Residence and former “TODAY” show Director Joe Michaels.

Sydney Goldberg was one of the student anchors who learned from Pitts. Later that day, she joined Pitts for lunch and took part in small group sessions with him.

A senior from Orlando, Florida, Goldberg listened to the stories Pitts has collected during his years of covering events such as the Boston Marathon bombing, 9/11 terror attacks and 2016 election coverage.

“Working with him, I learned the amount of hard work needed to become a successful journalist in the industry today,” says Goldberg. “Being mentored by Byron Pitts has enhanced my expectations for this industry and increased my admiration for the dedication it takes to provide a platform where citizens can become aware of what is going on in the world.”

Joe Michaels, left, former “TODAY” show director and HPU’s Broadcaster in Residence, shares his decades of experience with communication majors.

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With more than 30 years of experience, Michaels has become a close mentor to many students, including Carter. He was the professor who initially encouraged Carter to create his own show and gave him the resources to pursue his entirely student-run program while supporting him where needed.

And this past year, Carter expanded his list of expert mentors thanks to opportunities provided by the School of Communication.

First was meeting Pitts. He encouraged Carter to pursue his dream and stick to his niche in order to succeed.

Next came Boston Globe sportswriter Bob Ryan, who joined HPU as Sports Reporter in Residence in the spring.

Carter has followed Ryan’s work since he was able to read, and this past year, Ryan made his way to HPU to work one-on-one with students.

“Meeting with professionals from the industry I would like to be a part of someday really aided me in knowing what it takes to achieve my goals,” says Carter. “Each and every visitor spoke with me about what I had done so far in sport communication, and all of them were so interested in my work. They took the time to look at my current coverage genuinely and gave me advice on how I could improve as well.”

Not only did they advise Carter on his current pursuits at HPU, but they also asked about his long-term goals and gave him check points for getting there.

“I don’t know of any colleges where students can sit down and speak with industry professionals like I have done in just this past semester,” says Carter.

Connecting students with industry experts isn’t the only area where HPU’s School of Communication excels. The school also boasts an innovative curriculum, providing students with the tools needed to advance in their fields.

Innovative Curriculum In an interdisciplinary partnership, John Mims, assistant professor of strategic communication, and Dr. Larry Carter, assistant professor of marketing in the Phillips School of Business, joined forces this past year to create the HPU Perceptions and Marketing Lab. More than half of communication comes from non-verbal cues: body language, eye movements, facial expressions and more. Now, HPU communication students can measure these cues in the newly-funded lab. Using the latest technology, students can test a person’s response to different messages and stimuli, such as tracking eye movement while looking at magazine advertisements to gauge their effectiveness.

Students like 2018 graduate Lexi Becer, from Oakland, New Jersey, benefit from curriculum that’s ever-evolving and advancing.

Becer’s time as a strategic communication major prepared her for an internship with Calvin Klein before the start of her junior year. Last year, she turned that internship into a full-time role with the company.

“The School of Communication taught me to work on cross-functional teams at all times,” says Becer. “Because of that, my communication level is at its best. Every class I took at HPU broadened my horizons and allowed me to see my true niche.”

As the first event management program in the country to be housed in a School of Communication, HPU’s event management major is also taking an innovative approach.

The degree offers advanced courses and experiential learning to prepare students for successful and satisfying careers.

A Campus Connected to Industry Professionals During the 2018 school year alone, the Nido R. Qubein School of Communication welcomed a variety of experts to campus, allowing students the opportunity to network and receive mentorship from global talent on their career path. Here’s a glimpse of those industry leaders:

Melissa Agnes, Strategic Brand Advisor and Author of “Crisis Ready” Agnes is a leading authority on crisis preparedness, reputation management and brand protection. She spoke to students about risk management and how to build invincible brands that can withstand even the most devastating of events.

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Lieutenant Commander Scott McBride, U.S. Coast Guard Chief of Media Relations Strategic communication students benefited from a presentation and Q&A session with Lt. Cmdr. McBride. He shared his tactics for managing crisis communications and provided insight on how to manage real-world situations that public relations practitioners regularly encounter.

Lance Barrow, CBS Sports Producer Barrow, who has been the coordinating producer for CBS Sports golf since 1997, visited and had lunch with students in the School of Communication. He answered their questions regarding his career, gave advice for live broadcasting an event and talked industry changes with camera angles and graphics.

For the third consecutive year, the event management program has been named the best bachelor’s degree in the industry, winning the Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Award for Best Event Management Bachelor’s Degree.

Communication professors and event management majors who make up HPU’s student-run event club, Planning on Point, accepted the award during the International Festivals and Events Association (IFEA) conference in San Diego. The conference recognizes some of the world’s top festivals, events and educational programs annually.

“Our program is unique,” says Dr. Vern Biaett, assistant professor of event management. “We have created an actual bachelor’s degree in event management at HPU — not an emphasis or a few courses, but a full, 54 credit-hour degree.

Our classes emphasize what the IFEA requires their Certified Festival and Event Executives (CFEE) professionals to know.

And we are not done yet, with plans for future expansion on the horizon.”

Event management graduates go on to produce events within the public, nonprofit and private sectors, including weddings, conferences, festivals, sporting events and concerts.

Murphy DiRosa, a junior event management major from Easton, Pennsylvania, is president of Planning on Point. She understands the value of the hands-on experience the School of Communication and event management program provide.

“I’ve been able to hold leadership roles and learn to work with various groups,” she says. “Attending the conference allowed me to network with so many different people from the industry, creating lifelong connections. This program continuously prepares me for the future. With so many classroom and real-life experiences, I feel that I have learned — and am continuing to learn — the skills I’ll need to be confident in my career.” ▲

Opportunities for Involvement Abound The Nido R. Qubein School of Communication is home to numerous student organizations that provide opportunities for career development and campus involvement. Not only does every major within the school have its own club, but additional organizations exist where students across multiple disciplines can apply and grow their talents. Students can immediately join their choice of organizations beginning their freshman year. Below is a sample of just a few of the school’s offerings:

Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) The HPU chapter of PRSSA provides opportunities for students from all majors to develop their expertise in the field of public relations.

HPU’s PRSSA is a student-led, pre-professional organization under the guidance of mentors in the School of Communication. HPU’s PRSSA is focused on the importance of holistic education, experiential learning and values-based living.

Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) The School of Communication houses one of only four student chapters of the SPJ in North Carolina. Being chartered demonstrates HPU’s commitment to providing the best exposure and training in journalistic practice as students learn how to handle their constitutional rights to freedom of expression with thoroughness, honesty and ethical behavior.

SPJ is the oldest professional journalism association in the United States, and members of the SPJ believe that it is the duty of journalists to seek truth and provide a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues.

National Sports Media Association (NSMA) The School of Communication is home to one of only four collegiate chapters of The National Sports Media Association (NSMA). The organization is comprised of more than 1,000 members across the country and honors excellence in the sports media industry while sharing knowledge and history between various generations. HPU’s chapter teaches students to be aware of current industry theories and procedures and to apply the skills, creativity and energy of sports media to help become better communicators. NSMA also provides HPU students with the opportunity to become acquainted not only with their peers but with professional practitioners as well. HPU’s chapter members have taken part in events that foster networking opportunities including participation in NSMA’s national conference held in Nashville, Tennessee.

Lambda Pi Eta HPU’s Psi Psi chapter of Lambda Pi Eta (LPH), the National Communication Association’s honor society, was founded in 2009 and has initiated more than 100 members. The organization aims to recognize, foster and reward outstanding scholastic achievement in communication studies. Members work to promote and encourage professional development among fellow communication majors, provide opportunities to discuss and exchange ideas related to their field, establish and maintain close relationships between faculty and students, and explore options for graduate education in communication studies.

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Artists Who Thrive On Real-World Application Graduates from the School of Art and Design produce impressive results.

Imagine you’re a college student learning from designers who created signature graphics for the Harry Potter films — from the famous lightning bolt to newspapers with moving pictures.

Results Rooted in Hands-On Experience

Those designers, known as Mina Lima, are halfway around the world, but your High Point University professor arranged this digital meet and greet and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Sometimes professors take students to New York City to tour Google headquarters and meet famous artists. Other times, students embark on an Italy Maymester, a two-week global experience that shows them the avenues where their lives can lead.

You could be walking in the footsteps of Walt Disney with one of the original Imagineers who worked alongside Disney’s creator — someone responsible for designs like the Haunted Mansion and the Enchanted Tiki Room. HPU students embarked on this special journey during their fall break.

Or you could be assisting clients in a Calvin Klein showroom at furniture market in downtown High Point, where thousands of design and furniture professionals gather twice each year.

These are students’ experiences in HPU’s School of Art and Design. Experiential curriculum combined with opportunities not found elsewhere prepare graduates to connect their talents with relevant careers around the world.

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Students studying graphic design, studio art, interior design or visual merchandising have a world of color and professional experiences awaiting them.

“You never know who you will meet or where you will make connections and have the opportunity to network,” says Maddie Travell, ‘18, of Middlesburg, Virginia. “HPU is teeming with resources, advice and a great network.”

This approach helped Travell launch her career as a visual merchandiser at Nordstrom in Pentagon City, Virginia. Travell built her artistic design skills but also applied them to realworld projects.

“Dr. Victoria Brown in the visual merchandising department had unique classes that focused on the fashion side of visual merchandising, as well as real-world applications,” says Travell.

Opposite page, far left: A sculpture studio is one of many creative spaces HPU students can utilize. Middle: Larissa Hughes (left), Rachel Rice (middle) and Melissa Iczkowski (right), like many other design students at HPU, work at High Point Furniture Market alongside industry professionals to learn more about the interior design industry. Right: Danielle Garrison (left) and Thom Filicia (right) examine textile samples to transform interior design spaces at High Point Furniture Market.

“We were able to create displays for the ShowTime textile tradeshow at furniture market. We even redesigned the concept and layout of a store at a nearby popular shopping center. Dr. Brown’s projects made us problem solve issues that occur with businesses we see every day.”

That’s the goal — to instill within students the skills they need to navigate their complex careers.

Alumna Embodies the Entrepreneurial Spirit

“The students’ actions and decisions are informed by deep thinking, which makes them very flexible, adaptable and thoughtful as they encounter numerous challenges throughout their life,” says Dr. John Turpin, dean of the School of Art and Design.

Ally-Catherine Trenary, ’14, launched June St. George to meet a need in the textile industry — creating custom rugs made with 100 percent New Zealand Wool to revolutionize interior design spaces.

Lasting Lessons in Life Skills These experiences help students develop life skills — the ability to communicate with others, solve complex problems and continue learning and growing throughout one’s career.

Her business works like this: Customers visit www.junestgeorge.com and select their preferred pattern, material, colors and more to place their order. Then Trenary and her team bring the vision to life.

“While understanding theory is crucial, it is not until it is activated that it becomes a useful tool to move society forward,” says Turpin. “Our emphasis on experiential learning allows students to manipulate abstract concepts and bring them into our physical world.”

Ally-Catherine Trenary gained the expertise and skills she needed to start her own business only two years after graduation. Today, her company takes custom rug orders and brings their clients’ visions to life.

Trenary launched her business after her HPU experiences culminated. From the industry connections and real-world experience she gained as a student, she learned to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit.

Trenary’s interest in textiles started at HPU. She credits the university for helping her get the most out of the experience.

“When presenting my work at exhibitions, I was complimented several times about the presentation of my textiles and my professional business appearance,” says Trenary. “HPU and the interior design faculty have taught all of us how to present ourselves in a positive light.”

When she thinks back on the journey from student to business owner, she thinks of HPU.

Megan Buczynski, a 2018 interior design graduate from Pasadena, Maryland, completed two different internships at Christopher Guy and Miles Talbot Furniture before joining the team at Furnitureland South. She’s now a design consultant who gained technical competence in her field along with the real-world know-how to apply it in her career.

“HPU taught me to have the confidence to learn,” Trenary says. “Having a growth mindset, always looking toward the future and thinking ahead were other lessons HPU taught me, which I constantly tried to emulate in starting this company.”

“At Furnitureland South, my position is just as much sales as it is design,” says Buczynski. “HPU taught me not only how to solve a client’s problem through creativity and knowledge, but also how to brand myself.” ▲

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The HPU Advantage: Expert faculty, innovative technology and employer access prepare Phillips School of Business students to stand out.

She calls it her “first big business trip.”

Jessica Keys was a sophomore when Nestle USA paid for her flight to Arlington, Virginia. The Fortune 500 company wanted to interview her for one of three selective internship spots.

“I remember thinking, ‘I can’t believe this is happening,’” says Keys, a marketing major with a minor in sales. “But it was happening because everyone at HPU prepared me so well.”

Hundreds of applications had poured into Nestle for the internship spots. Keys stood out not only on paper, but in person, too.

So did Griff Caligiuri and Brandon Jusas.

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asked him to join their team as a consulting analyst as soon as he graduated from HPU. And Jusas began his career on Wall Street after graduating a semester early.

These students are supported by an abundance of resources on campus — state-of-the-art facilities like the Tilley Trading Room, faculty with years of experience and partnerships that bring employers to campus.

These employers have seen how students in the Phillips School of Business value free enterprise, personal initiative and the entrepreneurial spirit. And they know how that benefits their organizations.

You’ll find these values celebrated everywhere on campus.

They’re ingrained in HPU’s culture and in all 10 of HPU’s academic schools and 60 majors.

The Phillips School of Business serves as the academic bedrock for these values.

Surrounded by Opportunity The poster that hangs in Professor Larry Quinn’s office makes his students laugh. But they also know the meaning behind it.

In the picture, Quinn holds an umbrella under a downpour of rain.

These words are printed at the top: It’s raining job offers.

Quinn is the chair of HPU’s Department of Sales and Marketing and advisor to the Professional Selling Club. The students who commit to his programs often receive job offers before graduation.

“We love showing students their potential,” says Quinn. “They have so much of it. They just need someone to help them understand that. And I tell students that if you work with our sales department — if you really stick to this program, you will find a great career.”

Caligiuri is proof of that. He secured full-time employment as a consulting analyst at Accenture months before graduation. As an international business major with a minor in sales, he points to Quinn as one of his top mentors.

“The support system I had at HPU contributed significantly to my professional development,” says Caligiuri, a Division I lacrosse player from Winter Park, Florida. “Balancing academics with lacrosse, volunteering and social life has provided me with exceptional interpersonal skills and disciplined time management that I couldn’t have developed elsewhere.”

Professors like Quinn coach students on what their career paths can look like. Not only do they have years of experience in the field, they also share industry connections with students through career events. At specialized career fairs for accounting, sales and more, major employers come to campus to interview students for job and internship opportunities.

Students compete nationally, too. Senior Mandy Engelman traveled the country with Quinn and her peers in HPU’s Professional Selling Club to compete and meet employers who serve as judges at the competitions.

Before Engelman graduated, the club traveled to New Jersey to compete. Engelman personally took home four awards — her arms are filled with them in a photo from the event. The HPU team also placed second out of 35 schools.

“Look at the sales labs and conference rooms where we practice in Cottrell Hall,” says Engelman, referring to the building where HPU houses its various professional development offices together inside an innovative facility.

“These are resources the school provides so we feel comfortable going into a professional situation.”

Talking to a CEO comfortably is a skill I developed at HPU. – Mandy Engelman, ‘18, Assistant Media Planner at MullenLowe MediaHub

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DID YOU

KNOW?

Netflix Co-Founder Mentors Students Did you know that Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph serves as HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence and regularly mentors students interested in launching their own businesses?

To learn more about HPU’s robust In Residence program, visit www.highpoint.edu/innovators.

At the Annual Elevator Pitch Competition, Dylan Silber pitched one of the products he’s developed during his time at HPU. Read more about his invention on page 44.

Paving the Way for Their Peers Jusas launched his career on Wall Street after receiving his finance degree from the Phillips School of Business in December 2018. Finance is the school’s newest major.

“We built it to respond to market demand,” says Dr. Steven Lifland, department chair. “Career opportunities range from the trading floor to real estate, wealth management and more.”

The summer before his senior year, Jusas interned at UBS Private Wealth Management in New York City.

Pitch Perfect For Allie Bollman and her fellow student entrepreneurs, Cottrell Hall is the place where opportunity abounds.

The Belk Entrepreneurship Center is housed here. Inside, Entrepreneurship Club members meet to perfect business plans, brainstorm ideas on whiteboard walls and develop prototypes with a 3D printer. Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph, HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence, also visits each year to pull up a seat, hear their pitches and provide feedback.

Then, in the Baur Auditorium, business owners serve as judges for the Annual Elevator Pitch and Business Plan Competitions.

Startup funds are up for grabs. Students practice for weeks then deliver what they’ve built.

Bollman’s pitch garnered $2,500 for her business plan, Eat Safe: The Food Allergy Test Strip.

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On campus, he was a lead member of HPU’s Floyd T. Investment Club. Jusas and his peers met weekly to pitch how the club’s endowed funds should be invested. If the group agreed, trades were made, and students watched how the market affected the funds in real time.

They made decisions inside the Tilley Trading Room in the Wilson School of Commerce. A live stock ticker circles the room, and students use trading software throughout their courses.

The total preparation he received at HPU took Jusas to New York to launch his career.

“HPU professors helped me prepare for interviews in this field,” said Jusas. “The most meaningful mentors I had at HPU would be Dr. Steven Lifland, Professor Tom James, and Dr. Jo Lacy. All three took a keen interest in my career pursuits and took time out of their schedules to help me prepare for interviews whenever I asked them to. I will always be thankful for their time and support along my journey.”

And it’s not only their personal success they’re creating. It paves the way for their peers, too.

When Keys arrived at the Nestle office for her interview, she met other candidates from big schools — Penn State, Ohio State and more. The selection team was impressed with her abilities and the way HPU students are immersed in professional development.

This strip will test for proteins found in one’s specific allergen.

It will allow allergy sufferers to test their food when eating out to prevent an allergic reaction sometimes caused by cross-contamination. To start, the company will have the eight most common allergens: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat.

Bollman won because the judges saw not only the work she’d put into her product, but its relevance in the market.

“I’m so thankful for the opportunity that I was given to be a part of this competition,” said Bollman after winning first place. “I am honored the judges saw something in my product, and I can’t wait to see where this will take me.”

Second place Caitie Gehlhausen received $1,500 for her business idea, Socket Lock-It. Jared Brumm received $900 for

This summer, Keys, who hails from Herndon, Virginia, is working for the Nestle Walmart team in Rogers, Arkansas.

She’ll assist the team with how Nestle products are marketed and sold in Walmart stores across the country.

She knows she’ll return with career-boosting experience.

And she knows that in the future, Nestle will be likely to consider other HPU students, too.

“I feel like I helped break the mold,” says Keys. “It’s such a great platform for my first major internship.”

It’s not surprising. When they graduate, standing out becomes the norm for students in the Phillips School of Business.

“Talking to a CEO comfortably was a skill I developed at HPU, and this put my nerves at ease when going into selling competitions,” says Engelman. “We also bring in top sales professionals from major companies to teach us sales techniques and to get to know our program. Talk about an advantage.”

Students graduate with career preparation. But they also graduate with something more than that, too — the experience of being coached by caring mentors.

“Professor Quinn never failed to support us in any situation,” says Engelman. “I couldn’t ask for a better coach, teammates or experience at HPU.” ▲

his business idea, Easy Reach Crutch. And Manon Zijlmans received the People’s Choice Award for $100 for her idea, The Sticky Sleep Mask.

These students represent a wide variety of majors and backgrounds. And that’s the goal for Kathy Elliott, director of the Belk Center for Entrepreneurship.

“Each year, we are seeing more and more of our students embrace entrepreneurship, and that reinforces the fact that our students will be extraordinary future leaders,” says Elliott.

“It’s exciting to see how the number of great ideas continues to grow.”

Flip the page to learn more about businesses created by these students and others.

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THE ENTREPRENEURIAL High Point University’s student entrepreneurs know where to channel their energy and find support.

Inside the Belk Entrepreneurship Center, students craft sound business plans, pitch to investors for startup funding, brainstorm with business owners and connect with their peers.

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and thriving at HPU. Through annual Business Plan Competitions, academic programs and experiential learning opportunities that inspire innovation, HPU graduates job creators, not job takers.

On the following pages, discover a snapshot of student business ventures that began at HPU.

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MINDSET

Allie Bollman

Eat Safe: The Food Allergy Test Strip HPU’s Elevator Pitch Competition, First Place, 2018

This strip tests for proteins found in one’s specific allergen.

Bollman’s product will be available for the eight most common allergens: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. This will allow allergy sufferers to test their food when eating out to prevent an allergic reaction sometimes caused by cross-contamination.

Brandon Holder

Water the World HPU’s Business Plan Competition, First Place, 2016 HPU’s Elevator Pitch Competition, First Place, 2015 On his back porch in Clayton, North Carolina, Holder invented a portable water filter that distributes water at 5.5 gallons per minute. A filtration attachment reduces viruses, bacteria, cysts and protozoa by 99.99 percent, making virtually any water clean. It’s self-sustainable, too: It has a life span of over a decade and uses gravity to filter water. For the last three years, Holder has been securing funds from investors and sharing the devices with communities around the world that are in need.

Caitie Gehlhausen

Socket Lock-It HPU’s Elevator Pitch Competition, Second Place, 2018

Gehlhausen developed a product for the one thing people never leave home without — their phone. Adhesive card holder or phone grip? That’s the decision people once had to make regarding which popular product they’d attach to the back of their phone until Gehlhausen invented the Socket Lock-It, allowing the consumer to use both at once. The product is a sleek card holder with a built-in slot that allows you to easily exchange your phone grips. Gehlhausen, a sophomore entrepreneurship major from Cicero, Indiana, sells her patent-pending product on her Socket Lock-It website and on Amazon and has already received an order for more than 30,000 units. For more information, visit www.socketlockit.com.

Carlos Caetano

GYMART HPU Elevator Pitch Competition, Finalist, 2018 GYMART creates one place where the gym and supermarket are housed together. This reduces the amount of time people often take to travel from their gym to a grocery store, while also removing the stress of searching for healthy and organic foods. Caetano plans for his store to be divided into sections based on a desired health goal, such as a weight loss section, muscle gain section and more. The organized approach helps shoppers maximize their nutrition goals after their workout.

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CeAnna Soper and Jack Micciche

Breezy Brush HPU’s Business Plan Competition, Honorable Mention, 2018

Micciche and Soper developed the patent-pending Breezy Brush, a hair brush she designed with air vents that vacuum as users brush their hair to minimize cleanup. Living in a residence hall with longhaired roommates sparked the idea for Soper.

Dylan Silber

Whubber HPU’s Business Plan Competition, Second Place, 2018 HPU’s Elevator Pitch Competition, Finalist, 2018 Silber’s patent-pending shoe design comes with interchangeable soles, allowing users to modify the shoe for different activities.

Examples include soles specifically for running, hiking, cleats, dress wear and other styles. The shoe solves the problem of needing different pairs of shoes for different activities. It’s especially designed for adventurists and travelers in order to help them pack lighter and experience more.

Emily De Lena

Track Rabbit for DomTech HPU’s Business Plan Competition, Third Place, 2014 HPU’s Business Plan Competition, Second Place, 2015 HPU’s Elevator Pitch Competition, Third Place, 2015 DomTech provides athletic speed and agility training solutions. As a track runner at HPU, De Lena developed the Track Rabbit, one of the company’s products that addresses the need athletes have to pace themselves during their practices. Instead of using watches, verbal signals and teammates to attempt to keep on pace, Track Rabbit allows a runner to actually see a computer generated line in order to know what time or distance they have beat.

Jared Brumm

Easy Reach Crutch HPU’s Elevator Pitch Competition, Third Place, 2018

Easy Reach Crutch is a novel design for forearm crutches with added mobility, convenience and safety. After using crutches for more than a year, Brumm grew tired of the lack of mobility with his hands and arms to carry out daily tasks. His design allows crutch users to seamlessly move their arms while the crutches stay attached to them and upright by their side without the risk of falling. Brumm plans to sell the devices to medical distributors and department stores, as well as online retailers in order to improve the daily lives of the people who use walking aids.

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Jenna Tarantino

HotDawg Company HPU’s Business Plan Competition, Third Place, 2018 RIOT Business Accelerator Program Participant, 2018

The HotDawg Company is Tarantino’s umbrella company that includes products like the innovative Thermo-Leash, a retractable leash with built-in infrared technology used to measure and alert dog owners of the dangerous ground temperature to which their dog’s paws are exposed. The leash is a preventative approach to limiting burnt, blistered and infected paws caused by unsafe temperatures.

Quinn Riddle

Eversafe Bracelet HPU’s Business Plan Competition, 2nd Place, 2018 RIOT Business Accelerator Pitch Competition Winner, 2018

The Eversafe Bracelet is a band that wears like a bracelet to help parents, babysitters and chaperones keep track of children in crowded situations such as playgrounds, airports, festivals or theme parks. Riddle’s business idea originated from a class project in her Ideation and Creativity class that asked students to reflect on a day-to-day frustration in which there was no solution. Babysitting rambunctious kids with no way to rein them in other than the hope of their active listening skills presented quite the frustration for Riddle. Thus, the EverSafe Bracelet was born.

Ryan Gilbert

Safe-Crate HPU’s Business Plan Competition, First Place, 2017 Gilbert won $9,500 and first prize for the company he founded to improve storage for college students. Whether returning home for the summer or spending the semester abroad, the patent pending SafeCrate device simplifies the collegiate moving experience. Students sign up online to have the crate delivered to the student’s location, picked up at the desired time, stored in a secured, climate controlled facility and returned the following semester. As the name suggests, the Safe-Crate team provides a personal service with enhanced security allowing for a stress-free move for all students.

The Belk Entrepreneurship Center at HPU offers students support and engagement by: › Granting funds for start-up businesses owned by students through events like the Annual Business Plan Competition and the Annual Elevator Plan Competition

› Providing individualized advising for students, from startup to a successful launch › Creating connections with entrepreneurs who mentor students › Welcoming guest speakers from HPU’s extensive alumni, friend and parent networks › Supporting and training students to succeed as they enter business competitions › Performing market research and designing marketing plans

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Industry Professionals and Endless Opportunity HPU’s College of Arts and Sciences connects students with real-world practitioners and opportunities for success.

They don’t always recognize him at first. In fact, Michael Tourek says it’s sometimes weeks into a semester before one of the students in his theater class will finally ask.

But, like clockwork, one of them will stumble upon Netflix’s hit show “Ozark.” They’ll take a deep dive into the gripping plot and then, they’ll spot Tourek — their HPU theater professor.

At the start of their next class, that student will raise their hand.

“So, I saw you on ‘Ozark’ — what was that like?”

Tourek smiles.

On the show, he plays Ash, one of many antagonists to Jason Bateman’s lead character. But during the average week on HPU’s campus, you can find him inside the Hayworth Fine Arts Center teaching and mentoring students.

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He brings with him more than 20 years of theater experience, including roles in numerous television shows and major motion pictures.

“I use my stories and the life lessons I’ve gained to back up what I give them in the textbook,” says Tourek. “I’ve found it’s a lot easier for students to grab onto a topic and apply it if they’re given a real-world experience upfront.”

From the Cast List to the Classroom Tourek teaches the foundations of theater to HPU students and focuses many of his lessons on the importance of relationship building.

“In theater, you can’t emphasize the importance of networking and connecting with industry professionals enough,” he says. “I teach students how to build and maintain connections they’ll need, and beyond that, I enforce training.

Honing your skills and owning what makes you stand out is essential in any industry.”

Pictured to the left, Michael Tourek of Netflix’s hit show “Ozark” mentors students in HPU’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Tourek makes himself available to students whenever needed and has found that being a mentor is as much about being a cheerleader as anything else. The competitive theater industry brings its share of uncertainty and rejection, but Tourek is there to encourage students to persevere and never take anything too personally.

“As someone who aims to be a professional actress, learning from a working professional is an unbelievable experience,” says HPU freshman Becca Korn. “Mr. Tourek’s combination of knowledge and experience creates a learning opportunity beyond what I’ve ever hoped to have.”

Whether students are pursuing an acting career or earning their general education credit as part of the liberal arts curriculum, they walk away inspired by Tourek.

“Learning from someone who’s starred in a hit Netflix show is an extraordinary experience in itself,” says freshman Taylor Sweet. “You can see Mr. Tourek’s enthusiasm carried into his teaching, and when you’re learning from someone who’s actually involved in acting and production, it helps you better apply the material in your personal growth.”

And growth isn’t only seen in theater majors — it’s a primary focus for all professors in the David R. Hayworth College of Arts and Sciences.

Her major became her passion, and she soon fostered a vision for beginning HPU’s first Actuarial Science Club. She came to HPU because she knew the opportunity for growth existed and trusted that her professors would be there to help her dreams turn to reality.

Enter Dr. Ron Lamb, Hayward’s mentor and professor of actuarial science in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Under his advisement and assistance, Hayward founded the Actuarial Science Club and became the organization’s first president. Her leadership role in actuarial science made her resume a standout when it came time to apply for jobs.

The outcome? Three job offers in one week, and her decision to accept a job as a property and casualty actuarial analyst with Milliman, a 71-year-old actuarial consulting firm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

But before she could begin her career in actuarial science, Hayward was required to pass two Casualty Actuarial Society exams.

On a Monday morning after hours of studying, she sat for the second exam. She passed.

After texting her parents, she drove back to campus and headed straight to Lamb’s first-floor office in Couch Hall.

“Surprise!” she said standing in the doorway, holding her certificate from passing the exam.

Brekk Hayward is an example of that.

When Lamb tells that story today, he shakes his head and smiles.

Growing Passions into Careers

“The tangible thing with college is that you go to get a job, and with three job offers in one week, I felt accomplished,” Hayward says. “But High Point University has prepared me for so many other things in life.” ▲

Hayward, a Class of 2019 actuarial science major, came to HPU all the way from Okauchee, Wisconsin.

MIDTERM ELECTIONS BRING LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES The 2018 campaign season not only brought opportunity for political hopefuls, but also for HPU political science students. By taking lessons out of the classroom and into the real world, students built portfolios that set them apart after graduation. Below is a sample of opportunities HPU students took advantage of during election season:

Championing Young Voter Turnout HPU students Dalton Lucas, Sarah Mitchell and Abigail Knudson (pictured from left to right) spearheaded a voter registration and voting drive on campus for the midterm election through the Campus Vote Project and NextGen North Carolina, a nonprofit that promotes millennial involvement in the election process.

The Congressional Leadership Fund During her midterm season work with the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC, HPU junior Corinne King had the chance to network with Vice President Mike Pence, more than nine congressmen, and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (pictured).

Midterm Media Coverage HPU students visited local news studio WGHP Fox 8 to see the behind-the-scenes media side of midterm elections. After touring the studio, they sat in on a live interview with Dr. Brandon Lenoir, HPU’s assistant professor of strategic communication. highpoint.edu

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Creating The Path For ‘Endless Success’

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Students and graduates see HPU’s Stout School of Education as the place where they know moments and mentors will change their lives forever.

Two Degrees, Five Years The Stout School of Education offers these B.A. to M.Ed. programs for students looking to earn a second degree within a span of five years.

Graduates go to Capitol Hill and convince a roomful of education experts and legislative aides to listen.

Freshmen enroll in HPU’s inaugural Education Fellows Program and learn how picking vegetables and doing service-work for a year at a local school can help them teach the next generation.

• Educational Leadership • Elementary Education • Special Education

Meanwhile, local educators become students once again.

That’s just the beginning.

‘What Our Students Need’ Sam Entwistle remembers the moment.

It was January 2018 when she drove three of her classmates to Washington, D.C. They were all first-year teachers, all HPU graduates obtaining their master’s degree in educational leadership.

They joined their professor, Dr. Allison Blosser. Entwistle and her friends had no idea what they would get from a three-day conference sponsored by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

That changed in a conference room on Capitol Hill.

They sat behind legislative aides, school superintendents and principals from North Carolina and listened to a conversation

about how the country’s education policies affect teachers.

Soon, their conversation stopped.

They turned to the four first-year teachers behind them and asked Entwistle and her three classmates — Claudia Beard, Lucy Hill and Alana Pulling — what it was like to be a teacher in the 21st century.

Entwistle and her friends told the room what worked, what didn’t and what needed to be changed for them to stay in a profession that loses one out of every two teachers within the first five years of teaching.

Afterward, all four left arm in arm. Entwistle calls it her “Olivia Pope moment,” a reference to the TV show, “Scandal,” and its strong lead female character.

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Whenever someone asks me about High Point University, I always say, ‘HPU sets you up for endless success.’

– Sam Entwistle, ’17, Kindergarten Teacher

The four from HPU made things happen.

“It’s not me; it’s me making change that can affect others,” says Entwistle, a 2017 HPU graduate from Tewksbury, New Jersey, now teaching kindergarten at a North Carolina charter school.

“I’m just a little red-headed teacher from North Carolina, but it’s the idea that I’m representing millions of teachers in the United States.

“I can say, ‘You need to understand what we see.’ I’m a little window into that.”

Dawalt could tell her daughter much. That includes spending a semester as an assistant principal in her home district 30 minutes south of HPU. “The hands-on, real-life learning is what is so valuable,” she says. “In some programs, it’s a lot of textbook, but at High Point, I feel like we’re asked to put these things into practice.”

Dr. Blosser hears that and smiles.

Dr. Barbara Zwadyk, the program’s coordinator, knows the reasoning behind that.

“That was the highlight of my teaching career,” she says of the conference. “They understood that they have a voice. This is what our students need.”

“We have to change the way we educate children,” she says, “and that starts with the adults.”

The Impact of HPU’s Hands-On Lessons Talk to a few graduates or a few students. They’re a lot like Entwistle.

Take Katie Etheridge, a 2013 HPU graduate from Moorestown, New Jersey. She received from HPU a master’s degree in elementary education with a concentration in STEM, the acronym for science, technology, engineering and math.

She now lives in Denver and serves as the interim dean of students at the Denver School of Science and Technology.

When she was a sixth-grade science teacher there, she used hands-on activities often. She learned that from Dr. Shirley Disseler, one of HPU’s two STEM coordinators.

Etheridge sees the impact firsthand in her classroom, especially when one of her students jumps from his chair, yelling, “I know the answer!”

She thanks HPU for that.

Then there’s Keisha Dawalt. She’s 34, a married mother of two and an instructor facilitator at a North Carolina elementary school. Last summer, she enrolled in the HPU Leadership Academy. In December, she’ll graduate with a master’s degree in educational leadership and a principal’s license.

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“What did you do in class today?” Addison, Dawalt’s first-grade daughter, has asked.

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The Wisdom of Transformative Moments When Morgan White and Madison Parks arrived at HPU, they became good friends. It’s easy to understand why.

They’re both freshmen, Presidential Scholars and Education Fellows. They’re from the small-town South, raised in the church, and they like Hallmark movies.

Most of all, they want to teach.

White is from Yadkinville, North Carolina. She wants to teach high school math. Parks is from Galax, Virginia. She wants to teach elementary school students to love reading.

They see the program as an educational adventure. They’re ready.

“We’re making the path our own,” White says.

The Stout School of Education does help students blaze their own path. Ask them about that, and they’ll talk about transformative moments. They do change.

Like Entwistle.

“Whenever someone asks me about High Point University,” she says, “I always say, ‘HPU sets you up for endless success.’” ▲

New programs, new faces & the allure of lego

HPU and N.C. A&T State University are working together for five years to educate 100 teachers to improve instruction of high school math and elementary school STEM in a local school district. A $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education made it possible.

Known as the HPU Leadership Academy, HPU will improve North Carolina’s principal pipeline for 13 school districts through 2021. The academy was created through grants totaling nearly $4.4 million from the N.C. Association of School Leadership Development.

Dr. Allison Blosser created a new major, education studies, and established a two-week leadership program with the Washington Center to educate students on how national policy impacts classrooms.

HPU’s Education Fellows program selected 27 freshmen for its first year. The program will bring in every year at least 25 new students interested in becoming teachers.

More than 10,000 children have come to campus for Lego Education events, helping HPU students hone their teaching skills in the area of STEM.

Dr. Anne Leak (pictured above) became the university’s second STEM coordinator, and Dr. Amy Holcombe joined the faculty to teach students how to make education more innovative.

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HEALTH SCIENCES STUDIES LEAD TO HEALTHY CAREER PATHS

Students Engage with Community and Research

When Erika Klein was searching for the best university to pursue physical therapy, she quickly learned HPU’s Congdon School of Health Sciences was the place.

Klein remembers her admissions interview and asking Dr. Dora Gosselin, a pediatric physical therapist and the director of Clinical Education, “What made you want to become a physical therapist?”

“It’s exciting to work with children,” said Gosselin as she picked up a paper clip. “Through simple activities that involve something as common as a paper clip, we can design exercises that improve their life.”

Klein knew physical therapy studies would be strenuous, but she quickly discovered that HPU’s student-centered learning would help her along the way.

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Helping Hands Today, Klein is a second-year physical therapy doctoral candidate. Her first year felt like she was already a certified physical therapist because of the clinical work students provide in the community at places like Camp High Five.

Camp High Five is a summer camp for children who have hemiplegia, in which one side of the body has less movement and function. Through play, the students work individually with each child to help improve the child’s abilities.

“It’s challenging,” said Klein. “You have to keep that energy up for eight hours a day, and you can’t do the same thing you did 20 minutes ago. Creativity is key. Working with these children challenged me every day, but this is why I’m drawn to pediatrics.”

Mentors Matter Meghan Patton, a second-year physical therapy student, also worked at Camp High Five. Patton completed her

INNOVATIVE RESEARCH undergraduate studies at HPU in exercise science. Her dream is to become a pediatric physical therapist just like Gosselin.

High-level research focused on improving patient care and preventing injury is being conducted in HPU’s Congdon School of Health Sciences. Below is a sample of ongoing studies.

“Dr. Gosselin is an incredible clinician, and to watch her treat these children teaches us so much,” says Patton. “She allows us to be problem solvers. That has allowed our research to become something bigger than we imagined.”

Elisabeth Holt, HPU senior and exercise science major, examined the influence of lower leg landing patterns after ACL surgery.

She presented her research at the American College of Sports Medicine’s annual meeting.

Patton and Klein are part of Gosselin’s group of students who are researching how children, with and without cerebral palsy, respond to unpredictability while walking. This could provide better treatments to help children with cerebral palsy cope with unpredictability.

Dr. Sheri Lim, assistant professor of physician assistant studies, had her students research the health care needs of indigent people and put together packets of resources for these individuals.

They conduct their research in HPU’s state-of-the-art Human Biomechanics and Physiology Lab.

Dr. Kevin Ford, director of the Human Biomechanics and Physiology Laboratory, received a $200,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct athletic injury prevention research. His research focuses on how growth spurts during puberty may contribute to the risk of knee injuries in young female athletes. Dr. Ford also has a separate research partnership with Adidas.

“Our biomechanics lab allows us to conduct sports medicine and orthopedic research, so having a bunch of children in the lab during our research sessions has expanded all of the things we can do in the lab,” said Gosselin.

Research Recognized

Dr. Kevin Ford, Dr. Yum Nguyen and Dr. Jeff Taylor oversee a study funded by Adidas that provides local high school football players with free cleats. The athletes test and complete questionnaires about the footwear throughout football season.

Not only has the biomechanics lab helped HPU’s physical therapy students, it also helped Nick Saul, an athletic training student. When he was accepted, he never thought his research in the lab would lead to him speaking at an international sports medicine conference.

Saul wanted to pursue his interest in preventing injuries.

That’s how he met Dr. Yum Nguyen, associate professor of athletic training.

Saul partnered with the North Carolina Football Club in Raleigh. He examined and identified risk factors that increase the chance of lower extremity injuries in youth athletes.

“Dr. Nguyen guided me in my research,” says Saul. “He taught me to think critically, which is important for research, but also for my future.”

Saul’s findings were published, and he presented at the annual National Athletic Trainers’ Association Conference, where 15,000 clinicians and researchers from across the globe gathered.

“Nick’s presentation at a national conference sets him apart from students graduating from other schools,” says Nguyen. “Publishing as a student, particularly with the rigorous demands of an athletic training graduate program, is a major accomplishment.” ▲

Dr. Nguyen guided me in my research. He taught me to think critically, which is important for research, but also for my future.

– Nick Saul, Athletic Training Graduate Student

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Preparing Future

Pharmacists In addition to the technical skills I need, faculty are also helping build the soft skills to work with patients and counsel them to use the medication.

– Mimi Pham, Pharmacy Student

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Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy Focuses on Patient-Centered Care “Being part of an inaugural class, you have to have that pioneer spirit,” says Kelly Odegaard, a third-year pharmacy student.

That’s how Odegaard feels about being one of 59 students who were welcomed as the Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy’s inaugural class in August 2016.

“We were ready to take on that extra work and pave the way,” she says.

Since then, the second and third cohorts have brought enrollment up to nearly 200 students. And the faculty are making sure their students get hands-on experience in the laboratory, classroom and community.

Classroom Collaboration Take Mimi Pham for instance. She’s a third-year student currently conducting research with Dr. Sally McMillin and Dr. Christy Sherrill. They are studying the newest class of medications approved to treat Type 2 diabetes. They’re investigating how these medications affect patients’ appetites, which may lead to further studies designed to improve the weight lowering effects of these drugs.

“When I started pharmacy school, I knew what I wanted to do,” says Pham. “But Drs. McMillin and Sherrill, they’re both from different sides of the industry, and they’re giving me an idea of what kind of pharmacist I want to be.”

Pulmonary Referral Clinic for patients in need inside the Community Clinic of High Point. The Pulmonary Referral Clinic was started by Dr. Peter Gal and two of his students, Odegaard and Chris Houpt, in 2017.

Since Pham began her research with McMillin and Sherrill a year Patients with poorly controlled asthma or chronic ago, she’s learned so much about the field. obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are referred to the pulmonary clinic to confirm their diagnosis and assess the “I like the chemical background, and I like to know how a severity of their disease. This process includes performing medication works,” says Pham. “But along with the technical and interpreting lung function tests as well as designing skills I need, faculty are also helping me build the soft skills to individualized drug therapy regimens. work with patients and counsel them to use the medication.”

Sherrill believes this is a prescription for success. This type of experience is particularly important for students pursuing additional training after graduation.

“It’s amazing how we can affect change in these patients’ lives, but it’s also a confidence-building experience,” says Odegaard.

“This project has provided an opportunity to work with Mimi to supplement her didactic education and prepare her for her pharmacy career,” she says.

“The students have become very popular with the patients, and they are so competent that they expanded services at the clinic by offering an additional pulmonary education service to reinforce patient’s proper use of medications,” says Gal.

This close collaboration between faculty and students is also part of HPU’s culture.

This provides additional time to see new patients in the clinic.

“What sets our School of Pharmacy apart is the nature of our school,” says McMillin. “HPU is a smaller school, so the faculty have a stronger personal connection with the students and know them better. In that way, I feel like our students are more comfortable approaching us for a variety of things, whether it be related to the classroom, career advice, community involvement or research.”

A Pulmonary Clinic for the Community HPU’s pharmacy faculty and students have also taken their research and knowledge out into the community at the

“We make sure that patients know how to use their medications and that we can answer questions they have,” says Houpt. “We also provide a support system for them through smoking cessation.”

These students are able to improve the health of their community thanks to the guidance they receive from dedicated faculty.

“Faculty in the HPU Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy are highly motivated and care deeply about assuring a quality experience for all our pharmacy students,” says Gal. ▲

Pharmacy Fast Facts

Since the 2016 opening of the Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy, students have: Administered more than

Completed more than

Provided more than

Conducted more than

flu shots

blood pressure & Glucose screenings

hours of patient care

to Continuing Care Retirement Communities

1,000

1,000

30,000

450 Visits

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GLOBAL

INS GHTS

How studying abroad develops crucial skills

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Ask Jeff Palis, HPU’s director of global education, what the concept of global citizenship means, and he’ll give you a peek into some of his own study abroad experiences.

The Office of Global Education ensures students have the opportunity to immerse themselves in different cultures and return to the U.S. with valuable life skills to use in the global marketplace.

“In life, students will encounter people who do things differently than they do, but they must remember that doing things differently does not mean doing things better or worse,” says Palis. “This advice is from a friend of mine in the small village of Rogovka in the far eastern part of Latvia. I met her while conducting my doctoral research in Riga. I asked for advice on what to tell my students on the first day of class in the U.S. the following semester. I wanted my students to understand what the life skill we call ‘global citizenship’ really means.”

Palis is the main point of contact for partnering institutions with students who are outbound and inbound for study abroad programs.

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“Engaging with people and places other than one’s own helps us understand our shared humanity and appreciate our unique differences, while creating a space to respect diverse beliefs, values, customs, languages and communication styles,” says Palis. “Understanding, appreciating and respecting diverse cultures — these might be the most important life skills we can give a young person in today’s world.”

Understanding, appreciating and respecting diverse cultures — these might be the most important life skills we can give a young person in today’s world.

– Dr. Jeff Palis, Director of Global Education The Office of Global Education supports the mission of HPU to deliver educational experiences that enlighten, challenge and prepare students to lead lives of significance in complex global communities.

Studying abroad is a large factor in building a growth mindset as it requires people to seek out challenges rather than avoid them.

Not only are HPU students abroad exposed to different cultures, but other cultures are also coming to HPU. During International Education Week, HPU held a student panel featuring Sachiho Shiikawa, Macketta Johns and Kirby Hutcheson. The two U.S. students, Johns and Hutcheson, went to Australia and Scotland. Shiikawa is an exchange student from Japan who brought an interesting perspective as a student from a foreign country.

Palis says students are able to take advantage of every opportunity to gain an extraordinary education while also receiving a new perspective on the global community. Studying abroad requires a willingness to try new things and potentially fail in the process.

That builds a tolerance for ambiguity when events and communications don’t go as planned.

“Cultivating respect and appreciation for diversity is a life skill our students will gain from the study abroad endeavor they participate in,” says Palis. “We must constantly think on our feet and adapt. It will help our students navigate the world that awaits them after graduation. These are priceless life skills in any field of study or work.” ▲

How Chile Opened My Mind to Possibilities

By Bailey Grijalva, Class of 2020 As I hiked Cerro La Campana amidst the Andes Mountains and gazed across the hills of Cerro Alegre in Valparaíso, I knew the small and comfortable world where I was raised in New Hampshire was about to change. At the peak of La Campana, my breath was taken away, not only from how much I climbed, but from the thought that there is so much left of the world in front of me that I need to explore.

This feeling continued to add up over the duration of my semester in Chile from every interaction I had with local people, students in my program, my host family and trips to other parts of the country. Taking many classes with international students in my program allowed me to listen to other perspectives, reflect and learn from them. I heard stories from Hong Kong, Munich and Milan; I engaged in forums that discussed Chilean foreign policy with the rest of the world; and I had deep, indepth discussions about popular culture with my host family. There was so much I learned from every little moment and every little action that taught me how the real world and the global marketplace work.

Studying in Chile forced me to break down barriers that were initially uncomfortable. I joined organizations, went to church, took many tours of the city, joined an ESL class as a volunteer, and took a Zumba class to get myself involved. Skills add up over time from exposure, and because I was active in things that interested me, I grew out of my shell and made incredible new bonds with people who lived in Chile and who studied abroad with me.

Looking back at my study abroad experience, there wasn’t one big, defining moment. Instead, a hundred small ones grew my understanding of the world around me.

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UNCOVERING OPPORTUNITY

Through Undergraduate Research, HPU Students Set Themselves Apart While Making Discoveries

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What do okra, mattresses and law firms have in common?

They’re the key to one of the primary aspects that makes a High Point University education so powerful — undergraduate research.

HPU students are investigating these topics to discover new knowledge about how the world works.

What makes research special at HPU is the amount of early opportunity students have to get involved. They begin as freshmen, and by graduation, they’ve attended academic conferences, conducted experiments and presented their research. They may have even been published in scholarly journals.

Alongside them are faculty mentors who’ve invested in helping them develop skills that will serve them well in any career and set them apart.

NO WAITING REQUIRED

Getting a Head Start The Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Works is the starting point. Dr. Joanne Altman, the office’s director, is a resource for students. Her goal is to provide inquiry-based or creative experiences typically available in graduate school or the professional world.

At HPU, students are introduced to undergraduate research beginning freshman year.

This starts freshman year, when students join Research Rookies. They complete activities, workshops and trainings in research approaches and techniques to earn the status of Research Apprentice.

Sophomore Sara Seaford got her early start thanks to Altman, her mentor for a project with the mattress industry. As a freshman, Seaford, a psychology major from Mocksville, North Carolina, led a study for the Specialty Sleep Association that is helping the industry better educate consumers about mattress support.

“Getting Sara involved gave her the chance to present her work and have it published by the Council on Undergraduate Research and the company she worked with,” says Altman. “She’s built confidence and skills as she embraces more rigorous projects and training in her major.”

Research has given me a tremendous confidence boost.

– Phillip Armentrout, sophomore from New Bern, North Carolina

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In the classroom, I teach how the world works. When students do research, they change how the world works.

– Dr. Thomas Dearden, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

Trying Something New Students aren’t expected to have all the tools before they start. By working with faculty who contribute innovative ideas to their fields, students get the chance to learn from projects already underway before branching into their own original work.

Dr. Cindy Vigueira and Dr. Patrick Vigueira, biology professors at HPU, have been working with students to develop a new strain of okra. The Southern vegetable is nutritious but unpalatable to some due to its high levels of mucilage, or slime production. They hope that by studying the genetics of the plant, they will be able to develop a new version with less slime.

Phillip Armentrout, a sophomore from New Bern, North Carolina, is a few semesters into helping the Vigueiras with this research. Like Seaford, he got his start as a freshman.

“At first, I wasn’t very knowledgeable of how laboratory science is conducted,” says Armentrout, who is on a pre-med track. “They helped me properly work in a lab setting and develop protocol in research that holds value. Research has given me a tremendous confidence boost.”

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Confidence to try something new and move forward without having all the answers is what Cindy Vigueira says she encourages among the students working in her lab.

“We’ve been trying to break down the fixed mindset of students and help them realize that their past experiences do not limit them,” she says. “There’s always room to grow and try something new.”

Becoming an Expert About 2 million college students graduate each spring.

That’s a lot of competition for jobs and graduate programs.

Research helps students become more marketable by finding ways to distinguish themselves from the pack and highlight their credentials.

Through the hours studying theory, gathering data and interpreting results, HPU students become experts. It distinguishes them in interviews and applications.

Sophomore Sarah Culver is continuing a project started by pre-law students Amanda Vo and Emily Davis. A criminal justice and English writing major, Culver helped build a database analyzing the economics of practicing different areas of law.

“I’m excited to help those who are going into law pick the most economically responsible career path,” says Culver. “Not many people have done research in this area, and it isn’t something that others can say they’ve accomplished.”

LIFE SKILLS STUDENTS GAIN FROM RESEARCH

It’s Not Luck, It’s Work When HPU graduates take their next steps, they are prepared with the skills employers desire because of the hard work they’ve put into research.

Critical Thinking Problem Solving Communication Confidence Organization Intellectual Depth Responsibility Perseverance Teamwork

“We’re beginning to understand that students are not ‘finding’ their career path but developing it instead,” says Thomas Dearden, assistant professor of criminal justice. “It’s not luck that people fall into their passion. It’s work.”

“I’m thankful for the research opportunity at HPU. It’s made me a better student and a better person,” says Niamh Tattersall, a senior from York, England, who conducts research with Dearden. “It’s enhanced my skills and helped me apply them outside the classroom. I can gather sources, condense information, present findings and communicate effectively.”

Tattersall and other students appreciate the way HPU professors empower them.

“Taking responsibility for our research has led to a lot of personal and professional growth,” says Lucie Kirby, a senior. “It’s really rewarding to have a professor who trusts you to be involved in big projects and do the work well.” ▲

CHANGING HOW THE WORLD WORKS HPU Students Conduct Research with Inmates at High Point Jail Students and Dr. Thomas Dearden, assistant professor of criminal justice, are involved in research with inmates at a local jail, work that contributes to the advancement of knowledge and provides a service to the community.

One of their projects collected data on inmates’ views of High Point Jail Ministry services, which include Bible studies and practical skills courses. Another project assessed the impact of a tablet program by Pay Tel that allows inmates to take self-help courses. Dearden and the students interviewed inmates and analyzed two years of arrest records to gauge the program’s potential impact.

“HPU students are service-minded, which makes for a natural connection to the research we do in criminal justice,” says Dearden. “Research is being used to solve the numerous problems in the world today. In the classroom, I teach how the world works. When students do research, they change how the world works.”

“We worked with massive datasets and contributed to research that’s new in the field,” says Aurora Jaques, a junior from Irvine, California. “I was exposed to the vast complexities of the criminal justice system, and while these issues may seem daunting, it’s motivated me even more to pursue a career in law.”

In addition to new discoveries, research at HPU gives meaning beyond the classroom.

“Being involved, not for a grade but to solve a problem, has helped me find my passion and motivation to tackle bigger projects,” says senior Lucie Kirby of Annapolis, Maryland. “I came to college with a general idea of what I wanted to do.

Now, I have more specific goals.”

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HPU’s Growth Mindset

Motivating Students to Embrace Challenge and Realize Their Intellectual Potential

By Dr. Angela Bauer, Dean of the Wanek School of Undergraduate Sciences

Mindset has a powerful effect on student learning.

Just ask 2018 graduate and biology major, Deanna Lee. “I used to think of my coursework in black and white: either I would understand it, or I wouldn’t,” Lee shared with me recently.

Like many students around the country, she exhibited a fixed mindset about her ability during her early academic career. She believed that her intelligence was not something that she could change. Thus, when she struggled early in her scientific coursework, she took this as a sign that she probably just wasn’t a “science person.”

This limiting belief — that one is either a “science person” or not — commonly pops up in college courses across

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the nation, and it has huge consequences. Not only does it cause students to struggle academically in their coursework, but in the long term, it limits the number of students who choose to pursue careers in fields such as the sciences.

That’s why faculty at High Point University developed a plan to actively combat students’ limiting beliefs about their academic ability. Now, in biology and chemistry courses, HPU students regularly receive guidance and information that encourages them to adopt a growth mindset about their ability to do well in the courses.

These growth mindset tactics are based on the work of Stanford psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck and are a part of a broader, campus-wide initiative known as HPU’s Quality Enhancement Plan. Our QEP is designed to transform all students’ views about their learning.

According to Dweck’s work, which she conducted in the K-12 setting, when students cling to a fixed mindset (namely, when they believe intelligence is finite and unchangeable), they are more likely to avoid challenges (which they view as a threat or indicator of their intellectual limitations). And in the face of difficulty, they are less likely to seek help and more likely to disengage.

Faculty are well aware that a fixed mindset can stand in the way of students’ growth and their willingness to intellectually “stretch” themselves. As a result, their academic performance suffers.

growth mindset messaging on college students. And thus far, the results are impressive. A recent study conducted

by HPU biology faculty showed that not only do growth mindset strategies enhance students’ overall grade point average in introductory biology courses, but they are particularly useful for enhancing the academic performance of students from underrepresented groups, such as women and students of color.

Implementing growth mindset tactics across all majors — which effectively addresses the emotional components of learning and encourages ALL students to

Implementing growth mindset tactics across all majors is a great example of the ways HPU continues to innovate and inspire.

— Dr. Angela Bauer, Dean of the Wanek School of Undergraduate Sciences

Conversely, when students adopt a growth mindset, they understand that intelligence can grow and improve with effort and good strategies. With a growth mindset, they are more likely to respond resiliently to challenges and show greater learning and achievement in the face of difficulty.

persist and succeed — is a great example of the way HPU continues to innovate and inspire. In so doing, every student has the opportunity to embrace challenge, persist in the face of difficulty and ultimately realize their intellectual potential. ▲

As a result, academic performance improves, and students take on new challenges because they understand that responding to challenge with persistence and smart strategies equates to growth.

For Lee, embracing a growth mindset was transformative.

“After learning about growth mindset, I was able to view obstacles and challenges through a new lens that was different from the black and white one I had grown accustomed to,” Lee says. “From that point on, my mind was wired to encourage myself and to seek new strategies when I faced challenges, because I knew it would help me to improve.”

As a result of this change in mindset, Lee persisted in her biology major, and even completed two undergraduate research projects.

HPU is one of the first institutions of higher education to launch a campus-wide effort investigating the impact of

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LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP With Nido Qubein and Julie Freischlag

President Nido Qubein interviews some of the world’s most influential thought leaders and change agents who are drawn to the High Point University campus. Their conversations focus on leadership, innovation and values that prepare HPU students to lead lives of success and significance. These topics are also the focus of Qubein’s Seminar on Life Skills, which he teaches to all freshmen.

The interviews are open to the entire community, filmed in front of a live audience, aired on public television, and shared online with viewers around the world. Printed below is an excerpt of Qubein’s interview with Julie Freischlag, the CEO of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and dean of Wake Forest School of Medicine. The interview has been edited for clarity and brevity and can be viewed in its entirety at www.highpoint.edu/series.

QUBEIN: You talk a lot about resilience and what it means to be resilient. As one of the top surgeons in your field, how did you get to where you are today?

FREISCHLAG: As I’ve experienced through my life, there are many people who tell you what you can’t or shouldn’t do. Part of resilience is saying, “Well, I can do that anyway,” and also realizing that it may not turn out just the way you want. But it may turn out the better way that you didn’t even know was possible.

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QUBEIN: You initially intended to be a teacher, like your mother before you. You understood the importance of a good education. After attending college and moving your career focus to medicine, you were the first woman to do many things, such as leading the Department of Surgery at Johns Hopkins University, a leading institution of higher learning.

What was your path like?

FREISCHLAG: When I began as a vascular surgeon, I just wanted to be the best I could be, and I was only the sixth woman in the country

to get my certificate to be a vascular surgeon. I was used to being the only woman in the room. Later, I was the only woman chair in the country when I eventually got the job at Johns Hopkins.

QUBEIN: This is where resilience plays a very important role. Having been turned down by multiple universities, you didn’t give up. In fact, you remind younger generations the importance of surrounding yourself with people who share your vision.

How did you push past that adversity?

FREISCHLAG: You really need to find a brave person who will go the journey with you. A mentor is someone who will give you a chance but not be afraid to tell you when you’re doing something wrong.

QUBEIN: You’ve been a large role model to women specifically through your career accomplishments.

What would you say to encourage today’s young women and young people in general?

FREISCHLAG: The first thing is to believe in yourself.

No matter who you are or what you’re doing, you need to have the wherewithal to speak out. Even on the days when you aren’t sure, figure out where that strength

Access to innovators Steve Wozniak Apple Co-Founder, HPU’s Innovator in Residence

Byron Pitts

ABC News’ “Nightline” Co-Anchor, HPU’s Journalist in Residence

comes from. Surround yourself with good people, good friends and mentors so that when you have a problem, you know who can help you or offer you the ability to learn from it. And don’t be so hard on yourself. We are all so impatient to get where we want to be as quickly as possible. When you don’t get something you want, there will be other doors to take you to this vast array of endless opportunities.

QUBEIN: To all the males who have the opportunity to guide and lead females in different capacities, what is your advice to them?

FREISCHLAG: Make no assumptions of what a woman wants to do, can do or has time to do.

Never make that assumption that we don’t want it, can’t handle it, or aren’t available to do it. Have appreciative inquiry. Ask, “What do you think about that?” or “Is that OK with you?” or “Does that ring true with you?” or “What has been your experience?” Some people choose not to speak up, but make sure they have the ability and opportunity to. And be able to say you made a mistake. Being able to admit your mistakes and fix them gives others confidence that you hear them and you recognize them. ▲

High Point University students learn from world-renowned thought leaders who are attracted to HPU’s campus. Watch HPU President Nido Qubein interview these change agents for HPU’s Leadership and Life Skills Series online at www.highpoint.edu/series.

Biz Stone

Twitter Co-Founder

Marc Randolph Condoleezza Rice Netflix Co-Founder, HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence

Carol Dweck

66th Secretary of State Stanford University Professor of Psychology, Author of “Mindset”

Colin Powell

Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

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Parent Perspective: What Future HPU Parents Need to Know College is a crucial time in a young adult’s life. What campus will be the best home for them? Who will be their mentors? How can they make the most of the next four years? While high school students must consider these questions when choosing their school, HPU knows that parents are working alongside them, diligently searching for the same answers.

Carrie Esker (left) is pictured alongside her daughter, Emmi (center) and husband, Tim Esker (right) on HPU’s campus. The Eskers are from Cleveland, Ohio.

Meet Carrie Esker, mother of Emmi Esker, a senior sales and marketing major from Cleveland, Ohio, who landed a full-time job at GE Healthcare months ahead of graduation.

As an HPU student, Emmi was president of her class every year beginning her freshman year and served as a University Ambassador, chair of the Senior Class Giving Committee and president of the HPU Professional Selling Club. Below, her mother reflects on her daughter’s HPU journey.

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Q. How did you and your daughter discover and choose HPU? A. Emmi’s first college visit was to HPU. A friend of mine called one day and told me everything that she’d heard about the university. That day, I watched every video and read every article I found on the HPU website. I was amazed. I knew it would fit Emmi and us as a family very well. So, we scheduled our visit.

While we had scheduled visits to several schools in the area, HPU was the first. At the conclusion of our visit, I was convinced

that no one had ever experienced such an impressive college visit. We drove onto campus and were instantly greeted by the welcoming security staff. Then, we saw Emmi’s name on a reserved parking sign.

During the tour, I just kept thinking, ‘This is not your average university.’

Emmi was in tears of excitement within 15 minutes. We canceled the other campus visits we had planned and headed back home to share what we’d found with Emmi’s dad.

Emmi applied and was invited to Presidential

Scholarship Weekend. Her father came with us for that special event and saw exactly what we’d been seeing. We were all on board.

Mellon. The internship was part of GE’s sales program, so they wanted the technical skills. But, because of the life skills Emmi had gained at HPU, she stood out.

Q: What sets HPU apart from other colleges?

During her first day, she kept track of business cards and names of people she met so that she could write thank-you notes to them. The other college students hadn’t been taught to do that.

A. Without question, it’s mentorship. For Emmi, it was Dr. Robert Hirth, professor of management. He interviewed her during Presidential Scholarship Weekend, and a week after she’d arrived to campus at the start of her freshman year, he connected with her. Emmi was in shock at the immediate mentorship. As her mother, I was excited and affirmed in my choice to support her decision to attend HPU. Dr. Hirth became the constant encouragement Emmi needed. He guided her through undergraduate research projects and saw her willingness to be pushed.

Dr. Hirth saw Emmi’s strengths and introduced her to the advisors of HPU’s Professional Selling Club — Larry Quinn, chair of the Department of Marketing and Sales, and Randy Moser, assistant professor of marketing. Dr. Hirth saw that she had grown in the area of sales and wanted to move her onto a track that would further her strengths.

In her senior year, she became president of the HPU Professional Selling Club.

My top goal was to see my daughter stretched. It requires professors working closely with students to see those gaps that need filling in.

Q: How have you seen the impacts of an HPU education on Emmi?

A. Last summer, Emmi interned with GE Healthcare thanks to Moser and Quinn and her experience with the HPU Professional Selling Club. It was a highly competitive internship, and when she arrived, she was surrounded by students from universities such as Caltech and Carnegie

More than technical capabilities, companies want people who can collaborate and communicate well with others.

Because Emmi came from a premier life skills university, she knew how to handle herself. It’s what ultimately allowed her to turn her internship into a full-time position with GE Healthcare after graduation. She secured the position only months into her senior year. What’s better than that?

Q: What do you tell parents and high school students who are considering HPU? A. There’s something very important about the uniqueness of this university. As her mom, of course I believe that Emmi is unique and that her journey at HPU and finding success is extraordinary. But her story at HPU is not rare — it’s possible for anyone. The opportunities that were available to Emmi are there for all students.

As parents, we spend 18 years focusing on grounding our children in the values that we find important. It’s crucial to feel that your child’s college choice is only going to further that work.

HPU is an investment that keeps on giving. Every resource to excel is there. Emmi is an example of going for it at HPU. If your student goes after it, they’ll have the support to make it happen. ▲

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‘The World Needs Artists’ Professor Scott Raynor prepares students for meaningful careers as designers and creatives.

A

rt grabbed Scott Raynor’s attention early in life and hasn’t let go. He started out copying the works of the Renaissance masters from his mother’s coffee table books.

Later, he found that art could provide emotional connection and a fulfilling career, two things he now helps students tap into at HPU. As an associate professor and chair of art and graphic design, he helps students develop as creatives who can solve problems and think critically. He does this by encouraging them to share their art, teaching them about design in inspirational places and pointing them to careers that make a difference in the real world.

“Teaching at HPU is a great privilege,” Raynor says. “I like the energy the students bring. They push me as much as I push them.”

He’s helped many students find their artistic voice, much like he did in college. He recalls, “I couldn’t get enough art in my life,” during that time.

The same goes for Cassie King, a sophomore from Suffolk, Virginia, who knows how rewarding it is to stand back and admire the finished piece in front of her. Raynor has told her to look at the overall picture rather than focusing on the tiny

Art has practical applications for business, science, communication

“He gave me the opportunity to attend an art therapy conference that was life changing for me,” says King, a studio art and psychology major. “I’m so grateful that he’s been supportive of my career path. I came to HPU for its art program, and thanks to professors like Raynor, I have not been disappointed.”

Raynor knows making art and sharing it can be deeply personal, so he’s there to guide and encourage students. After losing his father to ALS during graduate school, he created a series of large-scale paintings and prints examining death, one of which was shown at the San Diego Museum of Art. His more recent works have explored the possibilities of color theory and symbolic still life imagery and have been admitted to national and international juried exhibitions.

He encourages his students to exhibit their work too, even in simple ways like on social media because “their voices are important,” he says.

Raynor also knows that art is best experienced hands-on.

He takes students on trips to places like New York City and Disneyland where they can connect with art around them.

Casey Garr, ’17, a biology and studio art graduate, took Raynor’s Maymester class, The Grand Tour of Italy. After sketching her way through the country, Raynor encouraged her to combine her interest in both science and art into a fulfilling career. She’s now pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago with plans to become a medical illustrator.

and technology. The world needs

“I’m so thankful I went on that study abroad trip,” she says.

“It set me on a path and helped me find a mentor who’s assisted me in reaching my unique goals.”

artists and creatives.

To Raynor, art is as relevant now as it ever has been.

–Scott Raynor, Associate Professor of Art

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details. It’s advice that helped her with drawing and with her next steps.

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“Art has practical applications for business, science, communication and technology,” says Raynor. “Casey is a good example of that. The world needs artists and creatives.” ▲

Preparing the Next Generation of Scientists Dr. Veronica Segarra supports her students in the classroom and beyond.

“She was the first person I called when I got accepted into Johns Hopkins University, and we both cried on the phone together,” says Maria Trujillo, a Class of 2016 graduate.

That’s the kind of impact Dr. Veronica Segarra is known to have on her students.

When Trujillo was an undergraduate student at HPU, she was a biology major and psychology minor. Trujillo was interested in conducting research through the many opportunities HPU offers students.

“When I first met Dr. Segarra, she gave a research presentation and explained how her passion is mentoring and helping undergraduate students become scientists,” says Trujillo. “I reached out to her and became very interested in her research.”

But Trujillo was also trying to decide between two different paths — graduate school and medical school.

“I needed to find a passion,” says Trujillo. “Dr. Segarra’s energy, openness and interactive ways in the lab really helped me get through my challenges. She was able to be there for me as a mentor and a role model and helped me achieve my scientific goals.”

Working alongside each other, Trujillo and Segarra investigated the ways in which cellular self-eating works at the molecular level in baker’s yeast cells. That led Trujillo to pursuing graduate studies in scientific research at Johns

Hopkins, where Trujillo is now a graduate student in the human genetics program.

Segarra joined the HPU family as an assistant professor of biology in fall 2015. Since becoming part of the faculty in the David R. Hayworth College of Arts and Sciences, she only has one problem - not having enough time.

“Time flies when you’re having fun,” says Segarra, about working with her students in the lab and the community.

Segarra is committed to guiding her students in the classroom and in their research.

“HPU and the biology department are a good fit for me because I’m able to create freely, and my students are one of the driving forces behind that,” she says.

What Segarra enjoys most is watching her students go through the process of becoming scientists.

“While they’re learning what a scientist thinks about, how they generate questions and use information, they come up with the greatest ideas and hypotheses,” says Segarra. “They challenge me all the time, and I think, ‘That is actually very insightful.’”

Segarra and Trujillo still call, text and email each other to catch up, and sometimes Segarra will offer advice and guidance. After all, Segarra was Trujillo’s “research mother.”

“She will forever be known as a person who guided me through life, and I wouldn’t have gone into research if it wasn’t for her,” says Trujillo. ▲

HPU and the biology department are a good fit for me because I’m able to create freely, and my students are one of the driving forces behind that.

— Dr. Veronica Segarra, Assistant Professor of Biology

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THIN SLICES

The Webb School of Engineering received approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to begin implementing degrees in computer and electrical engineering.

HPU physics instructor Jeff Regester was among a group of scientists who assisted NASA on an expedition to Senegal to collect data for the New Horizons probe.

Kyra Gillard, a 2018 graduate (pictured left), along with Dr. Meghan Blackledge and Dr. Heather Miller, both assistant professors of chemistry, were published in the journal Chemical Biology and Drug Design.

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Lane Bell, a first-year pharmacy student, received the J M Smith Foundation Independent Community Pharmacists Scholarship to pursue his dream of owning his own pharmacy.

THIN SLICES

The Rev. Gregory Drumwright, adjunct professor of communication at HPU, was awarded the Old North State Award by Gov. Roy Cooper.

Dr. Aaron Titus, chair of the Department of Physics, received the 2019 Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service from the American Association of Physics Teachers.

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The Department of Theatre and Dance was named to the Top 25 Theatre Programs in the country for 2018-19 by OnStage.

Dr. Sadie Leder Elder, associate professor of psychology, organized and chaired a symposium at the International Association for Relationship Research Conference.

Kaylee Campbell (right), a senior chemistry major, was the winner of the Piedmont Section of the Southern Society of Coatings Technology Scholarship.

This was based on her academic and research achievements.

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Dr. Ronald Ragan, dean of the Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy, represented the university at the 2018 Walgreens Pharmacy Deans and Board Members Seminar.

THIN SLICES

CJ Coursey and Brianna Mandry, graduate students in the Department of Physical Therapy, completed a six-week clinical experience providing orthopedic physical therapy care to the pit crews and staff of Richard Childress Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports.

HPU was recognized as a 2018-19 Career Development College of Distinction. This highlights HPU’s commitment to equipping students with life skills necessary to succeed throughout their career.

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Students are inspired, in part, by the environment in which they work to dream big and strive for greatness. HPU has applied that principle to campus buildings such as Cottrell Hall, pictured here.

Collaboration is fostered within the glass walls featured throughout, and all offices and support staff housed here are intentionally placed to guide students to compete on a global platform.

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INSPIRING ENVIRONMENT HPU’s inspiring environment is part of a strategic effort to surround students with energy, enthusiasm and the lift they need to walk and act with purpose. It’s not about beauty; it’s about intentional living. The character of a person is shaped by their surroundings. As a result, they graduate motivated — a skill new hires often lack — and ready to enter a competitive global market.

Top Ways HPU’s Campus Motivates and Fosters Excellence 1. Intentional world-class facilities. From The Wilson School of Commerce lobby, which resembles a Fortune 500 company, to state-of-the art TV studios and executive boardrooms that allow students to present themselves in a corporate setting, HPU places students in facilities that model the real world. These facilities are among the many reasons U.S. News and World Report ranks HPU the Most Innovative College in the South.

2. Lessons in leadership. HPU buzzes with the news of industry leaders who mentor students throughout the year. When students meet and learn from these accomplished leaders, they discover the art of the possible. The simple lesson learned: “I can do it.” Students have learned from change agents such as Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph, HPU’s Entrepreneur in Residence; Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, HPU’s Innovator in Residence; Cynt Marshall, Dallas Maverick’s CEO and HPU’s Sports Executive in Residence; and many others.

3. A 460-acre “classroom.” Flags from more than 52 nations line the Gene and Jane Kester International Promenade representing each international student’s home country. Quotations selected by faculty line the brick pathways and provide ideas for reflection, while sculptures of significant historical figures inspire students to pursue their goals. The Mariana H. Qubein Arboretum and Botanical Gardens bring holistic learning to life throughout campus. These elements are intentionally placed on campus to present learning opportunities at every turn.

4. Engaging events foster connection. The HPU campus thrives on connection. Activity fairs present students with clubs and causes that interest them. There are Greek organizations, which present leadership and service opportunities. There are guest lectures, concerts, theater performances, art exhibits and more to expose the HPU family and the community to the arts. There are 16 Division I athletic events to attend, dozens of intramural teams and 34 club sports teams. These events teach students to thrive in collaborative environments, to build relationships and connect the dots wherever they go.

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YOUR

ENVIRONMENT

MATTERS HPU’s inspiring atmosphere motivates students to reach their fullest potential.

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Gabrielle Banks is a self-proclaimed High Point University “hoarder.” Name an HPU item — hats, magazines, brochures, T-shirts, acceptance letter. She’s kept them all.

Why? Because for Banks, each piece represents a step in her transformational HPU experience. Each piece reminds her of how far she has come.

As a high school student in Stafford, Virginia, Banks was ready for an environment where she could grow herself and find an abundance of new opportunities. So she began her search.

That search was short-lived once she visited — and experienced — HPU. Like all prospective students, Banks’ HPU experience began at the university’s entrance. She was greeted by a wave from a friendly member of HPU’s campus safety team who knew her name and directed her to a parking space distinguished by a personalized sign with this message: “HPU Welcomes Gabrielle Banks.”

Banks understood that the gestures were more than just a “nice touch” or an effort by HPU to display hospitality.

Instead, she understood them as the university’s immediate willingness to invest in its students.

If HPU believed in her enough to invest this time and detail during her first visit, what opportunities would they provide over the next four years? Banks was motivated to be worthy of the investment.

If I could put it all into one note, I would thank HPU for the very long, jam-packed days that leave me feeling purposeful and fulfilled.

– Gabrielle Banks, Class of 2021

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“The environment, the friendships, the sense that I can accomplish so much and transform here — I’ve realized at HPU, nothing is impossible,” Banks says. “This university has inspired me to help everyone who sets foot on this campus to uncover their potential. I want to give back what this environment has given to me, and in that way, the cycle continues.”

During her first weeks on campus, Banks joined her fellow freshmen for the President’s Seminar on Life Skills.

The Product of Your Surroundings Think environment doesn’t make a difference? Ask any professional sports coach if they prefer to play at home or away.

HPU understands that your surroundings shape your behavior.

Banks would have once classified herself as introverted and shy.

Today, you’ll find her confidently mentoring underclassmen as a First Year Navigator, playing drums for and serving as a leader in the Genesis Gospel Choir, and leading campus tours for prospective students as a University Ambassador.

When Banks has time to pause and reflect, you can find her on the Kester International Promenade. Standing amidst sculptures of famed historic leaders, she’ll close her eyes, listen to the classical music that plays softly on campus and simply breathe in the air. And just like that, she’s overwhelmed with gratefulness.

HPU President Nido Qubein spoke on the intentionality of HPU’s campus, making particular note of the important details of campus, such as the mirrors.

“President Qubein drew our attention to the mirrors you’ll find in every stairwell at HPU,” says Banks. “He noted that when climbing a stairwell, you often can’t see what’s around the next turn — like life. With the mirrors, you’re more aware of your surroundings, just as you should be in your life choices. Choose only to place yourself around people and in places that will build you. You can easily see what’s around your next corner by looking at your current environment.”

And when Banks takes inventory of her current surroundings at HPU, she smiles.

“I’m less than two years in, and I can already see how this place has changed me for the better,” she says.

“I want to take advantage of everything that’s here.

When I graduate, I’m going to have tapped into every opportunity this university provides.”

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As only a sophomore, Banks could write a thousand thank-you notes to people across campus.

“But if I could put it all into one note, I would thank HPU for the very long, jam-packed days that leave me feeling purposeful and fulfilled,” says Banks. “I would thank this university for teaching me things I didn’t even realize I didn’t know. And, I would say thank you for giving me a space to be imperfect. I’m allowed to try, fail and learn without fear or judgment while receiving encouragement to grow.”

And while Banks’ story is unique, her experience is common among all HPU students. Her appreciation is echoed by many when they pause and reflect on their outcomes, like Michael Dreher, who lined up his career six months before graduation.

Extraordinary Outcomes Each month, HPU honors two highly motivated students with the Extraordinary Leader Award.

MICHAEL DREHER

“High Point University embraces our students’ purposeful living,” says Gail Tuttle, HPU senior vice president for student life. “It’s what makes our community remarkable. The Extraordinary Leader recognition highlights the excellence and service that our students perform in and out of the classroom and serves as an example of just how impactful our inspiring environment can be for those who live and learn here.”

When you group a year’s worth of Extraordinary Leaders together, their stories couldn’t be more diverse. Yet, each student credits HPU’s environment in some way.

For Dreher, a native of Lake George, New York, HPU provided the opportunity to cement his values.

Dreher has never shied away from the path less taken. After high school, when many of his friends went to college in the Northeast, Dreher went to work. He took a gap year with the intent of gaining real-life experience. It was around that time that he heard of High Point University.

It was the only university he applied to. He liked what he saw — HPU’s entrepreneurial approach, its entrepreneurial spirit and the bedrock values the university espouses. Dreher learned those lessons first from his family, and now, the university he wanted to attend would continue that education.

Soon, he found himself 12 hours away from home not knowing a soul.

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Now, as a 2019 graduate with a degree in business administration and a minor in computer science, Dreher has done well for himself. Months ahead of graduation, he secured his career as a data analyst with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

When he looks to his experience at HPU — serving as the president of his fraternity, a member of six honor societies, chief justice of HPU’s Student Government Association, and receiving mentorship from every corner of campus, he realizes how he got there.

“High Point University is a place that challenges you to be aware and personally responsible for who you are, and that is a great gift,” he says. “I know that whatever challenge I face in the future, I can be true to my integrity. I am confident of that.”

HPU ENGAGEMENT

BY THE NUMBERS

100+ 300+

CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS

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MAJORS

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EVENTS

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MINORS

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DIVISION I ATHLETIC TEAMS

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GRADUATE PROGRAMS

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CLUB SPORTS

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STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS

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GREEK ORGANIZATIONS

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ANNUAL VOLUNTEER HOURS

Values Modeled People rise to the environment in which they live. Whether in class, a residence hall, or one of the library learning common spaces throughout campus, students are consistently surrounded by excellence.

They see a member of HPU’s Campus Enhancement team work with care and diligence to clear every sidewalk of snow. They receive a hug and an open ear from the cafeteria worker with whom they develop a bond. They see HPU President Nido Qubein walking across campus, engaging with students and pausing to pick up a stray piece of trash if spotted.

They live in a setting that calls them to be better. They live in an inspiring environment.

Ask others what inspires them, and they’ll point out a specific campus connection.

For junior Olivia Royce, it’s the quotes inscribed on the Kester International Promenade.

Royce liked what she saw when she checked out HPU online.

She was reminded of what her family studied together in their Manlius, New York, home every Sunday night — all things God, family, country.

When she came to visit, she found President Qubein’s stance on HPU’s values refreshing. Then came what she discovered on the promenade.

All she had to do was look down.

OLIVA ROYCE

She saw countless granite slabs of quotes.

“You see the university’s beliefs in the ground, and that’s so inspiring,” she says. “I knew then there were no if, ands or buts. I knew this is where I wanted to go because this is who I want to be. I want to be the kind of person unafraid to share my beliefs.

Just like High Point University.”

For Austin Pinelli, it’s the chance to step outside his comfort zone.

He’s a Presidential Scholar, a Millis Scholar, a founding member and treasurer of the Actuarial Science Club, and a member of Alpha Lambda Delta, the honor society for first-year students.

But his claim to HPU fame is most obvious during HPU basketball games when he sports his purple body suit and straps on his tuba to lead the pep band’s tuba section.

Pinelli has arranged seven tunes for the HPU pep band and says his creativity has taken off at HPU. “A lot of my life before High Point was pretty structured,” he says. “It was like, ‘This is how things are, and let’s keep it that way.’ But with High Point, it’s like, ‘Oh, let’s try new things.’ It was something different, and everyone could contribute in a positive way.”

AUSTIN PINELLI

On campus, he finds that the people are what inspire him most.

“I hear how people worry about my generation being ready with what’s going on around us or running this or that industry,” he says. “But with the friends I’ve made here, I’m reassured we’re not going to mess things up. We can make positive change, and it shows me that it’s true what they say about HPU. It does attract extraordinary students.” ▲

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HPU’s Church Garden:

I SEE GOD THE MOST HERE Before he enters the Henson Reflection Garden, Davis Sarrett takes off his shoes.

It’s because of what’s in the middle — a labyrinth.

Sarrett, a junior, walks it barefoot several times a week. When he does, the HPU sophomore from Birmingham, Alabama, leaves his penny loafers by the garden’s gate, takes a deep breath, bows his head and walks slowly, heel to toe.

“Excluding the chapel, this might be the most sacred space of all on campus,” says Sarrett, a human relations major. “I see God the most here.”

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“Jesus Has The Wheel” The Henson Reflection Garden is a beautiful space.

It’s HPU’s newest garden, the 27th in the collection known as the Mariana H. Qubein Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. It’s beside the Hayworth Chapel, full of plants with names like poet’s laurel, golden dream, sacred lily and green veil.

The garden’s plants are subtle, mostly green with slight touches of mauve and autumn yellow. In the middle of the labyrinth is a granite water feature three feet high. It sounds like a trickling stream.

Since opening in August, the garden has attracted students, faculty, visiting ministers and staff. They come to sit, read, study and talk. A few meditate. Others walk the stone pavers of the labyrinth and continue a spiritual practice created 4,000 years ago.

“It’s like going to church,” HPU First Lady Mariana Qubein, the gardens’ creator and namesake, says of the labyrinth. “It can help connect us, center us and make us think of how God can impact our life.”

Strong words. But that has happened to students like Sarrett and Justin Frederick.

Frederick and Sarrett are members of HPU’s Board of Stewards, the student group that helps organize service projects and plan the chapel’s weekly services. Both see the garden as an important part of their daily lives.

Frederick, a senior pre-pharmacy major from Norwalk, Connecticut, comes to the garden before class every day to walk, pray and ask God tough questions about his future.

When he does, Frederick hears in his head, “Do not be afraid.”

“It reminds me that Jesus has the wheel, and we’re just passengers,” Frederick says. “That puts ease in my heart.”

Kim Smith and Chris Henson, ‘83, supported the Henson Reflection Garden on HPU’s campus.

He calls them “blessings.”

Henson is now the president and chief operating officer at BB&T, and he sees the garden as his way to honor his marriage and say thank you to his alma mater.

So, when he hears HPU students use the garden as a focal point for their faith, he’s happy. That, he says, was his hope.

“It’s not important when it happens,” he says. “Just that it happens.” ▲

A Graduate Gives Back The garden became possible because of Chris Henson.

He, too, believes in divine intervention.

Henson grew up in High Point, the only child of a single mother. She worked in a sewing factory; he worked on becoming the first generation in his family to go to college.

But he wondered how he could afford it. High Point College made it happen.

In 1979, Henson came in as a Presidential Scholar. A woman from the college’s admissions office — a woman unknown to him today — helped him secure a federal Pell Grant that paid for the rest of his college expenses.

The Roots of HPU’s Beauty In 2006, HPU First Lady Mariana Qubein formed an arboretum committee to find ways to enhance the natural beauty of the campus.

Today, HPU has nine plant collections, 27 gardens and more than 700 taxa of trees. An army of people made it happen. Mariana Qubein led the way.

In May 1983, he graduated with a business degree. On a Saturday afternoon in October 1984, Henson married his high school sweetheart, Kim Smith, in the Hayworth Chapel. Two months later, he started a job with BB&T.

In 2009, the HPU Board of Trustees named the university’s arboretum and botanical gardens after Qubein. The decision humbled her. Yet, board members saw the importance of her work.

The Hensons now live in Lewisville, North Carolina. They have two grown daughters. Chris sees that these three important decisions made his life: his marriage, his alma mater and his employer, BB&T.

“It is our responsibility to take care of the natural world around us,” she says. “At High Point University, we do.”

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HPU’S STORIES OF FAITH No matter their faith, HPU students celebrate in many ways.

Here are some of their stories.

CHRISTINE WATT Every Christmas, Christine Watt puts her faith to work.

For the past two years, Watt has coordinated HPU’s Angel Tree project and helped anyone on campus become Santa Claus for local children at Christmas. And there are many children, at least 150 from two months to 12 years old.

Watt, the junior theater major from Austin, Texas, sees the tags and thinks not of gifts, but of children. Children like Eric.

“Jesus teaches us to help other people in the world like Eric,” she says. “They are like my next-door neighbor. How could I sit here and not do something?”

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MIKAYLA JOHNSON

BISHARAT KHAN

Mikayla Johnson wore a $1.50 thriftstore dress with multi-colored flowers as eye-catching as any highway billboard.

She has pictures to prove it.

As a Muslim American from Pakistan, Bisharat Khan grew up in a post 9/11 world that made him wary of others and other religions. That all changed nearly three years ago. Why?

Johnson wore it to the Tacky Prom, one of the many events organized by Young Life College, one of HPU’s largest religious organizations.

Young Life College has nearly 100 members. Johnson, a junior Spanish major from nearby Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is one of its nine leaders.

Her dress represents how she and her relationship with God have grown.

“I care more about people,” she says.

“That’s a great thing, a weighty thing.

I hurt when they hurt.”

HPU’s Interfaith Dinner Club.

He ate with students who practiced almost every religion. They shared food in the basement of Hayworth Chapel and talked about their faith and dreams.

The dinners lasted at least two hours.

Khan kept coming back, month after month. He knew why.

“I realized we’re not different people,” says the pharmacy doctoral student from High Point, North Carolina. “We’re the same inside.”

TESSA MAY When she came to HPU from small-town Massachusetts, Tessa May didn’t get homesick. HPU’s Board of Stewards helped her with that.

She joined the board her freshman year and helped coordinate weekly chapel services. She discovered fun places to eat, and she found friendships.

May is now a junior, a special education major and the board’s president. She grew up Episcopalian, in Millis, Massachusetts, and wrestled with questions about her faith.

At HPU, she found answers — and a rule to live by.

“To love people for who they are,” she says. “That’s the No. 1 thing I need to do.”

ZACH POSNER Zach Posner looked across the HPU ballroom and saw scores of students with their families. They had two things in common: They were all Jewish, and they were all fellowshipping together during an HPU Family Weekend Bagel Brunch.

“Seeing all those people,” Posner says, “you realize how far the organization has come.”

Posner is talking about Hillel, HPU’s Jewish organization.

Posner, the outgoing president from Livingston, New Jersey, graduated in May with degrees in criminal justice and psychology. At HPU, he and other members worked hard to create a campus presence and support one another.

And Hillel grew.

“If everyone says, ‘Not me,’” Posner says, “how is it going to change?”

JEWISH LIFE High Point University has a thriving Jewish community and vibrant Hillel on campus. About 200 students at High Point University identify as Jewish, a number that grows each year. HPU

COURTNEY WALLEN

welcomes students from all movements of Judaism and people from other faiths

Courtney Wallen sings with men and women who look like her and praise God through song. And praise God, they do.

who are interested in learning about

Wallen started with HPU’s Genesis Gospel Choir her freshman year. In May, she graduated with a degree in broadcast journalism. She now steps into her career and steps away from a choir that helped her grow far from her home in Oxford, Connecticut.

and religious activities with other Jewish

She’d sing spirituals like “King Jesus Is Listening” and connect with her family’s spiritual roots remembering what she calls the “old church.”

regional, national and international Hillel

Judaism. Students participate in social students on campus and through the region, celebrating Shabbat and major holidays, assisting in regional Jewish service projects and participating in events, including Birthright trips to Israel.

“That,” she says, “is a part of me.”

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Enhancing Students’ Lives Curtis Giles is part of a team that ensures students live in an inspiring environment.

When Curtis Giles arrives on HPU’s campus at 3 p.m., he dons his tool belt and begins his busy afternoon of

I constantly strive to go above and beyond to ensure that students succeed, from the time they arrive on campus to the day they walk into their first job after graduation.

– Curtis Giles, Second Shift Manager, Campus Enhancement

responding to maintenance requests.

But really, Giles does much more than that.

He’s leader of a team that ensures students are living in a happy, safe environment so they can thrive at HPU, where the culture of caring for students extends from the professor in the classroom to the employee who fixes a leaky faucet.

“A lot of these kids have never been away from home or lived without a parent before,” said Giles. “I like to tell my staff, ‘Think of these students as your own kids.’

If their air conditioning breaks, I wouldn’t want my kids living in 90-degree heat in the middle of summer. I’d want them to be comfortable. By ensuring that our students have the support they need in their home away from home, they can focus on the importance of getting an education.”

Helping students isn’t just work for him— he sees it as a chance to teach students practical skills so they can live successfully on their own after graduation. Besides maintaining the university, Giles is one example of the many leaders on campus who model values outside the classroom.

“I like to do something I call ‘Life Lesson of the Day,’” Giles says. “When I go to fulfill a student maintenance request, rather than just solving the problem, I try to show the student how to prevent it from happening

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again in the future so they know what to do when they’re on their own.”

And HPU students are extremely grateful for Giles and his staff.

“Without Curtis and Campus Enhancement, we wouldn’t be as free to focus on our studies as we are,” says junior Symaira Bolden. “By ensuring we don’t need to worry about what would happen if the air conditioning broke or if a drain is clogged, they allow us to feel safe, cared for and ready to tackle the world.”

Giles’ connection to HPU runs deep as he’s gotten to see the university’s development, and he’s embraced the university’s growth mindset here at HPU. His appreciation for HPU’s culture began with his mother, who worked here and retired in 2005.

He remembers meeting her in the Slane Student Center for lunch and seeing how she interacted with the students. Thanks to his mom, he got to learn firsthand what it means to care for the students as his own, whether it’s a friendly smile and a greeting or taking the time to hear about their day.

“I constantly strive to go above and beyond to ensure that students succeed, from the time they arrive on campus to the day they walk into their first job after graduation,” says Giles. “From 1924 Prime to Cottrell Hall’s sales labs, it’s part of the culture here, and it’s something I’m proud to be a part of.”▲

A Spirit of Giving As director of housing operations and Volunteer Center advisor, Tyresa Foster helps students feel at home and get involved.

Service is a way of life for Tyresa Foster.

At High Point University, she’s one of the friendly staff members ensuring students feel at home on campus. She also advises a group of students who plan volunteer activities that connect HPU to the greater community.

In both of these roles, as director of housing operations and advisor to HPU’s Volunteer Center, Foster shares her giving spirit with others, inspiring students as an example of how one can serve through their work.

Having grown up in Washington, D.C., Foster saw examples of service and civic involvement in the nation’s capital. She became active in the community during college as a member of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity and continued that commitment as an educator who was named Teacher of the Year and as director of two nonprofit programs supporting children’s literacy and academic success.

“We teach students that just because they have made a mistake or something didn’t go as planned, it’s not the end,” says Foster.

“There’s a safety net here to help them rebound and succeed.”

She is also advisor for HPU’s student-run Volunteer Center, a hub for service opportunities. The Volunteer Center organizes four blood drives a year, an annual carnival for an elementary school, alternative fall and spring break trips and more. They are a part of the 110,000 hours of service HPU provides annually.

Foster emphasizes that students are the driving force. They do the legwork of planning, securing funds and bringing the events to life.

Mikayla Labbe, a junior from Charleston, South Carolina, met with Foster weekly to plan the carnival for Montlieu Academy of Technology, a time for 200 children to spend at HPU playing carnival games and enjoying snacks with college student volunteers.

When she joined HPU, she was eager to engage in the university’s caring culture.

“Working so closely with her this year has improved my communication and leadership skills,” says Labbe.

“Volunteering my time in the community is important to me, so the fact that I get to work here and give in ways that provide a sense of hope to our local community means a lot.”

Students also plan alternative break trips through the Volunteer Center, allowing them to give a week of service in the fall and spring to communities abroad. In 2017, Foster went on the trip to Guatemala, where the team helped families install stoves in their homes. They also delivered donations of clothing, shoes, vitamins and other supplies.

This comes across as she works with students through HPU’s Office of Student Life.

“I want every student or family member I interact with to come away from our conversation with the best experience,” she says.

That includes Macketta Johns, a senior from Frederick, Maryland. When Johns was anxious about arranging housing, Foster met with her after hours to calm her nerves and work it out.

“Tyresa is always working so hard. I am forever grateful for her help and positivity no matter how many times I reach out,” Johns says.

Foster takes great care in being transparent with students who are facing challenges. Instead of giving them a “mom lecture,” she helps them plan their next steps.

“Our students’ hearts are so big,” she says. “I’m amazed how they want to give back.”▲

Our students’ hearts are so big. I’m amazed how they want to give back.

– Tyresa Foster, Director of Housing Operations and Volunteer Center Advisor

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THIN SLICES

The Department of Theatre and Dance reimagined man’s quest into the American frontier through the comedy, “Men on Boats.”

Pop sensation Jesse McCartney headlined the annual Fall Concert while country music star Chase Rice headlined the spring concert.

Ingrid Rojas Contreras (right) visited campus to discuss her novel, “Fruit of the Drunken Tree.”

The New York Times best-selling author was part of HPU’s Phoenix Reading Series.

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The Student Government Association hosted a trunk-or-treat where members of the community came dressed in their best costumes and participated in games and activities.

THIN SLICES

During HPU’s new N.C. Junior Piano Competition for ages 14-18, Kevin Xu of Cary, North Carolina, was selected from eight finalists as the winner of a cash prize and scholarship from the Department of Music.

Jay Wagner, mayor of the city of High Point, joined HPU physician assistant students to proclaim National PA Week.

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TUBBY COMES HOME The most excited freshman on campus is someone you won’t expect.

Orlando “Tubby” Smith, HPU’s new basketball coach.

A half century ago, Smith left his family’s farm in Maryland — and his 16 brothers and sisters — and came south to play basketball at then-High Point College. He graduated in 1973, and today, he’s the school’s ninth all-time leading scorer in men’s basketball with 1,589 points.

He’s back in the Millis Center, the gym where he wore No. 20 and dived for loose balls.

For Smith, High Point University was never about the points scored. It was about the connections made. He met his wife, found lifelong friends and discovered himself.

“I learned to be a man,” he says.

THE BUSY COACH Smith has always followed the advice of his father, Guffrie, a World War II veteran, farmer and devout Methodist.

“Be the best you can be,” Guffrie told his son, “and good things will happen to you.”

That has happened.

In November, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, he earned his 600th win in his 27-year college career. HPU beat East Carolina 55-52 on East Carolina’s home court.

For more information on HPU’s championship coach, visit: www.highpoint.edu/Tubby

Smith is now one of only 15 active coaches nationwide with 600 wins.

That’s just for starters.

He won the national title with Kentucky in 1998, earned National Coach of the Year three times, and has become only the second coach in history to take five teams to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, often known as the Big Dance.

Smith breathes basketball and has enough plaques, championship rings and memorabilia to fill every inch of his office.

But at HPU, his office walls are bare. People ask him why.

“I haven’t had time,” he’ll tell them.

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DR. QUBEIN IS DOING GREAT THINGS HERE. THAT’S WHY I CAME. WE ARE PART OF SOMETHING SPECIAL. – HPU Men’s Basketball Coach Tubby Smith

THE THOUGHTFUL MENTOR It’s a Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day at HPU, a day off for HPU basketball.

But not for Smith.

He stands in the fellowship hall of Hayworth Chapel surrounded by his team. With two players at 6-feet-10, everyone around them stares. Smith takes it in stride. He huddles his players together and tells them to tune in to the message they’ll hear.

But Smith can’t stay. He’s off to see a potential recruit play.

The next day, Smith sits down with two local sportswriters for a podcast, talks strategy with his coaches and starts another long afternoon of practice, of pacing the court whistle in hand and channeling the fierce determination of his mother, Parthenia.

“Mom was a screamer,” he says.

At practice, Smith’s voice is a back-of-the-throat bellow. He is his mom’s son.

“Go baseline!”

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“Run it!”

“Hold the ball. I didn’t blow the whistle!”

Smith works them hard because he wants them to play hard.

But he also wants them to understand the lessons they learn on the court are lessons they’ll take throughout life.

He has had each of them write down their life goals, and he’s met with them one-on-one to discuss their future beyond basketball.

Those lessons aren’t lost on Jahaad Proctor, a junior 6-foot-3 guard from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

“He not only wants you to be a tremendous basketball player,” says Proctor, a sales major. “He wants you to be a tremendous man.”

THE STUDENT MAGNET On campus, students see and talk with Smith often. But sometimes, they’ll toss out the nickname Smith earned as a toddler bathing in his grandmother’s wash basin and refusing to get out.

“Hey, Tubby!” students say.

Smith always waves back.

At Tubby Time, an event last fall at the Wanek Center, Smith sat on a stool and told students about the team, his inaugural season and his return. The questions came.

“This is my alma mater, my wife and I went here, and High Point is going through a tremendous transformation,” he answered. “Dr. Qubein is doing great things here. That’s why I came. We are part of something special.”

Afterward, he stood in front of a big HPU backdrop, took portraits with students and autographed whatever they gave him. Anna Strano, a sophomore from Branchburg, New Jersey, handed him an HPU hat. It was for her Uncle Tim. Strano, a human relations major, later caught a game. She couldn’t miss Smith.

“It was really incredible,” she said. “It’s cool to see someone with that kind of passion.”

THE WHY OF IT ALL In Smith’s office are three placards on easels that display the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena, Conference Center and Hotel. It’s a $120 million project slated to be completed next year. It’ll offer fans a basketball showplace — a 4,500-seat arena with a special name for the floor.

Tubby and Donna Smith.

WHERE YOU’LL SEE TUBBY ON CAMPUS Despite his national fame and success, HPU Men’s Basketball Coach Orlando “Tubby” Smith is an approachable presence at HPU. Students, faculty and staff see him everywhere. Visitors can, too. In Tubby’s own words, here are his favorite HPU hangouts: SLANE STUDENT CENTER CAFÉ

“This is where I see students. The café has tremendous food, and great people work there.”

R.G. WANEK CENTER

“There’s so much to do inside this busy student center.”

The Smiths donated $1 million toward the project. But the Smiths have supported HPU for years. It’s a lesson Smith learned long ago on the farm.

CONGDON HALL

“We didn’t have much at all,” Smith says.

“But what we had we would share.”

COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS

And HPU? “I’m so proud of High Point University, and what it did for me,” he says. “It made a difference in my life, and I want to give back.” ▲

“Being a coach, I love the cutting-edge technology.”

“This event is so beautiful. You won’t find anything else like it.”

MILLIS CENTER

“Lot of memories. Had classes there, too.”

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Meek Continues

Volleyball Success at HPU When the final ball hit the floor in their match against Marquette, it meant their season had come to a close.

It also signaled that HPU’s women’s volleyball team had done it — they had made school history.

With the close of the season, they became the first team to win both the Big South regular season and tournament titles in the same season since the program began.

These accomplishments came under new leadership.

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Ryan Meek was named the head coach of the High Point University volleyball team in January 2018, becoming the 12th head coach in the volleyball program’s history.

Meek came to HPU after spending two seasons as the recruiting coordinator at Creighton University under head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth, a three-time National Coach of the Year. While he was with the Bluejays, they went 55-14, including a trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2016.

Prior to his time at Creighton, he was the head coach at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, where he compiled a 110-64 record over five seasons. He garnered National Coach of the Year honors at the NCAA Division III level by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 2015

after finishing with a 29-9 record and a trip to the national semifinals. He was also named Southern Athletic Association Coach of the Year twice and helped the Warriors win their first SAA regular season and tournament titles.

“There’s no substitute for head coaching experience,” Meek said. “My five years at Hendrix helped prepare me for some of the challenges we faced this season and helped me develop my persona in the gym. Having already had five years as a head coach gave me a head start for when I arrived here in February. I was able to jump right in and get started.”

Meek was a standout player in high school in his home state of California. He started as an outside hitter, but moved to setter his senior year. He earned a scholarship as a setter and continued his playing career at Quincy University and Moorpark College.

“Having played all positions except middle helps because I have been in the same situations as our players,” Meek described. “I’m not speaking from the point of view of one position, but from having played all over the court. Obviously as a setter, I tend to think more offensively, but having the background as a passer and defender helps me there too.”

The volleyball program played in its third-straight NCAA Tournament as it traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to play Marquette in November of last year.

“Going to three straight NCAA Tournaments helps our program in national attention and perception,” Meek continued. “Hopefully some doors open in recruiting that may not have been open before, and as our brand as a school and program continue to grow, we see the benefits. From a current program perspective, I think it helps our confidence. Only about 10 percent of schools nationally have been to the last three tournaments, and we’re one of them. I think there’s still a bit of a hill left to climb in our heads about where we fit in nationally, but being in three straight NCAA Tournaments and playing tough opponents in pre-season helps close that gap.”

High Point led the conference hitting percentage, assists, opponent assists, kills and opponent kills under Meek’s direction. Senior Molly Livingston was named Big South Player of the Year and was an AVCA All-Southeast Region honorable mention, while sophomore Abby Bottomley garnered All-Big South first-team honors. Livingston led the Big South in hitting percentage, while Bottomley was top in the conference in digs per set.

Senior Jordan Hefner was named Second-Team All-Big South, senior Katie Tylman earned honorable mention and All-Academic team honors, and freshman Madison Smith received a spot on the All-Freshman Team.

Six seniors graduate from the program this season, but Meek has confidence in his returners and incoming freshmen to pick up where the 2018 season left off.

Meek led the Panthers to a 21-10 overall record and a 14-2 Big South mark. The outcome? A record-setting season for the program.

“My immediate thoughts are how proud I am of this group,” Meek explained. “Winning the conference regular season and tournament is a difficult task, and we competed toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the country. I also realize how much opportunity for growth there is in this program.

We have so much to sell as a program from the academics, campus, support and winning tradition that I can’t wait to see the next steps we take in our progress as a program.”

“Losing the six seniors is going to leave a huge hole,” Meek said. “They are the most successful class of players to go through High Point University volleyball, so you can’t just snap your fingers and replace them. With that said, we have a stellar recruiting class lined up and some great returners, and we’re excited to keep building our legacy as a program.”

Meek will continue to set high goals for his team as he moves forward in his role of head coach of the HPU volleyball team.

“Our goal is to continue to grow and get better,” Meek explained. “We’re continuing to accomplish things this program never has. We want to keep building on it by striving to be the best we can be on and off the court!” ▲

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S T U D E N T AT H L E T E

Q&A Meet

Emily Lyon

A senior goalkeeper for the women’s soccer team, Lyon is a four-time Dean’s List honoree, four-time Millis ScholarAthlete and was accepted into medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Before graduating from HPU in May, the Wexford, Pennsylvania, athlete earned 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District honors after being selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Lyon is the eighth Panther in women’s soccer history and the first-ever HPU keeper to earn the Academic All-District distinction.

What did you study at HPU, and what are you doing now?

I earned two degrees from HPU — a Bachelor of Science in exercise science with a concentration in exercise physiology, and a Bachelor of Arts in biology. Through my HPU experiences and earning those two degrees, I was accepted into medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Now, I’m pursuing my dream to go into trauma or emergency medicine for the United States Air Force. The military has been a big part of my family, which has inspired me to take my passion in medicine and give back to our country.

Who in your family served in the Armed Forces?

My grandpa served in Vietnam as an Army pilot, and my uncle is currently serving in Afghanistan. He’s one of the most prominent figures in my family that’s inspired me. Growing up, he and his family were always moving all around the country, and we would visit them wherever they relocated. I just loved going onto each and every Army base and seeing that way of life and all the people who inspire me.

What was the process of applying to medical school like?

I met with the Office of Career and Professional Development during my junior year to set up a timeline of medical school applications and goals. They helped me generate ideas for my personal statement, suggested good MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) prep courses, and taught me how to choose a program that was right for me. I studied for many months for the

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MCAT, and I spent the summer before my senior year taking the exam and applying to medical schools. After all my applications were submitted, I met with Dr. Bill Gentry, director of Career and Professional Development, to prepare for interviews and practice with mock interviews. When I went in for my real interview, I nailed it and soon after received my acceptance!

What are some of the challenges you faced in taking on a double major and competing in Division I women’s soccer?

I think it’s been tough to manage my time, especially in the fall when we traveled so much and were on the bus so much.

I learned to study and write papers on the trip. But I think the hardest part of my pre-med concentration was being so much more than a student. If you want to attend medical school, you must get involved in your community and be a prominent leader on your team. I also focused my time on getting a campus job, being part of campus life, building a robust resume and becoming a well-rounded person.

How would you summarize your time at High Point University?

I’m so thankful for everything. From the academics to the athletics at High Point University, everything built me into a wonderful candidate for medical school and a wonderful person. It has all enabled me to carry on the rest of my life and my future. For my teammates who are going to be my best friends for the rest of my life, to my coaches who have been such a great support system for me, I’m really thankful for everything that HPU has brought me. ▲

S T U D E N T AT H L E T E

Q&A Meet

Asher Nolting The men’s lacrosse team is one of the newest Division I High Point University athletic teams, and yet they’ve already achieved two conference regular season titles, including their first Southern Conference title. Junior Asher Nolting, a native of Greenwood Village, Colorado, made history in the 2018 season as the first player in HPU and SoCon history to record a 30-goal, 30-assist season, breaking the program scoring record with 66 points. He was named an Inside Lacrosse Pre-Season All-American Honorable Mention going into his sophomore campaign. Get to know more about Nolting, one of the team’s most dynamic players.

What brought you to High Point?

Coach Jon Torpey gave me a call going into my senior year and told me to come down for a visit because he knew I’d love the campus. I fell in love with the campus as soon as I stepped on it. I loved the guys, and I thought I could really thrive in this program. Now, I know I can.

How does North Carolina compare to your home state of Colorado, and what were your thoughts once you were on campus?

I definitely miss the winters in Colorado. I like snow, but I love North Carolina. I love the people in North Carolina. Everyone is super nice. This is definitely a place I would consider living after graduation.

But what really drew me here is I believe this university gives students a better chance to do what they want. I think it is one of the most diverse universities in the country. I fell in love with it right when I stepped on campus.

What were your thoughts on your first college season?

I had a good year. As a team, we started off a little slow, but we were pretty resilient. We came back in the second part of the season and won a conference championship. This year, we are looking to win the championship outright.

How do you improve after winning SoCon Freshman and Player of the Year?

I just need to get faster and stronger and try to stay healthier longer. It is always

tough, especially with the amount of good players we have in our conference. It was an honor to receive the SoCon award, and it gave me a little extra motivation to keep going.

What enabled you to become the first player in school history to post 30 goals and 30 assists in a season?

Learning from my teammates has been extremely beneficial. We have Chris Young back this year, and I am grateful for all of our upperclassmen who have given me the opportunity to do certain things that I probably wouldn’t be able to do if I were a freshman on any other team in Division I lacrosse. I give all the credit to my teammates.

What are your personal goals for this season?

I want to be a First-Team All-American.

I think I’m a good enough player to be one of the Top-Four attackmen in the country, if not a Top-Five player in the country. I’ve put in a lot of work this off-season to get me to that level.

What are the team goals for the season?

We want to get that first NCAA Tournament win. We’ve never done it as a program, and I think this year is definitely a year we can make a pretty good run. We’re young, but we still have some experience, and I think that will help us. ▲ highpoint.edu

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#SQUADGOALS Students Gain Friendship, Focus and Family Through Club Sports.

It was the first race of the season, but Kelly Rickard knew it was over. Her rowing career had ended with a dislocated knee.

In just her second year on the club rowing team, she had grown to love a sport she originally didn’t like. As a freshman, her roommate told her in no uncertain terms to get up and do something, so Rickard had tagged along.

She found family in rowing and the drive to keep going. Now, as a senior and team captain, she can’t imagine college without it.

Despite her injury, the psychology major from Georgia, Vermont, worked hard with Coach Burt Whicker to become the men’s coxswain. Her teammates encouraged her as she went weekly to physical therapy.

“This team has been my saving grace,” she says. “It’s where I’ve found my best friends, my bridesmaids, my home. They’ve gotten me through more than races and hard practices. They pulled me through one of the hardest times of my life.”

In September, she sat in the boat with her best friend and doubles partner, Courtney Meissner. She was able to race again. Even better, they brought home a gold medal.

“We didn’t think we’d do well because we had never rowed together,” Rickard remembers. “When we got off the water, we couldn’t have been happier.”

They brought out their best, kept each other calm and reached their potential together with each stroke.

That’s what club sports at HPU do.

We come from different backgrounds and majors, but we’re united as a team.”

– Gabby Kozlowski, Women’s Club Running

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inspiring environment

Go for It

Keep Pushing

With 33 club teams at HPU, students have the opportunity to do most anything — horseback riding, frisbee, soccer, martial arts and more.

Club sport camaraderie doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time practicing, setting goals and overcoming adversity together.

Hobie Williamson had run cross country since middle school. He wanted to continue without the heavy commitment of collegiate level sports, but he wanted to be part of a team. He found the sweet spot in club running at HPU. “It’s perfect. There are still practices and races, but it’s more casual and relaxed,” says Williamson, a sophomore from Phelps, New York. “It’s allowed me to meet amazing people I call my friends. They helped me adjust as a freshman and made this the place I call home.”

Williamson and his teammates say club sports have helped them become more confident and develop leadership skills, responsibility and perseverance — important assets for the future.

Team meals are an essential part of the experience. They eat together on campus after every practice. Before big races, they gather at Coach Erin Moran’s house for potluck dinners. They laugh, have fun and make memories.

“We’re all really close as a team and enjoy being with one another,” says Gabby Kozlowski, a sophomore from WinstonSalem, North Carolina. “We come from different backgrounds and majors, but running unites us as a team.”

Whicker, the rowing coach, understands this, so he holds practices six times a week and puts new team members on the water within days of joining the team. Their time together includes incredibly focused workouts but also team-building exercises such as hiking, flag football or yoga.

“You become very close to people when you sweat for them,” says Whicker. “I tell our novices they will make the best friends of their lives in rowing. Success comes from forming those relationships and putting in the time.”

He tells them to look out for one another and help a teammate who’s down.

Rickard, who received that during her injury, paid it forward when a new team member became sick. Even though they’d just met, Rickard took her to the hospital and stayed with her there. Whicker called her parents to let them know she had friends caring for her.

The fall activities fair on campus is where students like Madison Gotro, a sophomore from Charlotte, North Carolina, find their sports family.

“Don’t be afraid to get involved,” she says.

“It may seem intimidating at first because college is a big step and everything is new, but if I would not have stepped out of my comfort zone and joined club running, I would not have achieved as many goals, met my running family, or become the person I am today.” ▲

HPU’s 34 Club Sport Opportunities Ballroom Dancing Baseball Men’s Basketball Women’s Basketball Bass Fishing Equestrian Esports (video games) Field Hockey Men’s Golf Women’s Golf Men’s Gymnastics Women’s Gymnastics Men’s Ice Hockey Men’s Jiu-Jitsu Women’s Jiu-Jitsu Men’s Lacrosse Women’s Lacrosse Paintball Men’s Powerlifting Women’s Powerlifting Men’s Rowing Women’s Rowing Men’s Running Women’s Running Men’s Soccer Women’s Soccer Softball Men’s Swimming Women’s Swimming Men’s Tennis Women’s Tennis Ultimate Frisbee Men’s Volleyball Women’s Volleyball

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CARING PEOPLE HPU surrounds students with a network of caring individuals on campus to foster the value of giving and engage students in the service of others. As they give of their time, students learn that life is equal parts success and significance. Their emotional intelligence grows with their ability to connect with others. Their efforts amount to 110,000 hours of service annually with at least 60 local agencies.

A Snapshot of HPU’s Commitment to Service 110,000 hours served annually in the local community

More than 1,500 hours of service committed to 30 local agencies on HPU’s MLK Day of Service

2,000 books donated to local schools by incoming freshmen since 2016

116 bicycles built by HPU staff and faculty and donated to local children

More than 5,000 volunteers recruited and managed

by HPU Volunteers In Service To America (VISTAs)

$2.1 million raised by the HPU family for the United Way

Christmas cheer spread to 96,000 since 2011 during HPU’s Annual Community Christmas Celebration

60,000 pounds of food donated by students to local agencies

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inspiring caring people environment

Each year, HPU’s Stout School of Education hosts local elementary school students for a culminating celebration of the Book Buddy Program. Junior education majors are partnered with an elementary student at the start of the semester and meet weekly with their buddy for reading exercises. The end of the semester-long program is celebrated with a day of reading and crafting between buddies.

Pictured here is HPU education major Anna Stilwell (right) with her book buddy, Ericka James.

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Helping Hurricane Victims HPU family donates $30,000 to American Red Cross

While High Point University’s campus wasn’t heavily impacted by Hurricane Florence, other parts of North Carolina experienced flooding and damage. Hundreds of HPU parents and students from across the nation gathered inside the Hayworth Fine Arts Center to help as HPU President Nido Qubein presented a check for $30,000 to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Florence relief efforts.

“HPU has stepped up time and time again to meet the needs of the community and the region,” said Phil Driscoll, chair of the High Point Chapter of the American Red Cross. “This money goes directly to those impacted by Hurricane Florence.

These funds will purchase cots, supplies, food and more.

HPU is a great example of servant leadership.”

This announcement came during the university’s Fall Family Weekend event. After the donation was presented, HPU also hosted a meal packing event, where families packaged nonperishable food for people who were impacted by the storm.

“While our campus remained open with normal operations to keep students safe and secure, our hearts are heavy for those who are now recovering,” said Qubein. “HPU is a valuesbased institution, and we pray our efforts will assist people in eastern North Carolina and places beyond who are suffering from this storm.”

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But it didn’t stop there.

More than a week later, HPU’s Civitan Club was busy packing hygiene kits for those affected by Hurricane Florence.

The toiletry items and cleaning supplies were donated to HPU by Sunnybrook Church in Bristol, Tennessee, and at this year’s CROP Hunger Walk where HPU students volunteered. Members of the club packed more than 400 hygiene kits that included a toothbrush, soap, a hand towel and other necessities.

“I love serving — that’s why I wanted to be on the board and wanted to be co-president of this club, because we do a lot of great service projects,” said Mikayla Labbe, Civitan Club co-president. “This one is especially helpful because we can do good for a community that was directly affected.” ▲

HPU is a great example of servant leadership.

– Phil Driscoll, Chair of the High Point Chapter of the American Red Cross

A VEHICLE FOR SERVICE HPU’s Mobile Lab shares science education with youth Imagine being a child discovering a love for science for the first time by looking through a microscope in a stateof-the-art lab at school. But it isn’t inside a classroom. It’s actually HPU’s Mobile Lab, an innovative science lab on wheels that makes chemistry and biology accessible to all students. Faculty and students travel to schools throughout the city of High Point and the Piedmont Triad to foster a love for science in local youth.

The university funded the creation of HPU’s Mobile Lab, and the project was spearheaded by Dr. Neil Coffield and Dr. Veronica Segarra, assistant professors of biology, and Dr. Heather Miller, assistant professor of chemistry.

Students unveiled the Mobile Lab to the community during a special event at High Point Central High School.

“I feel good knowing that he’s going to have the advantage to use this lab,” said Kellie Jackson, a high school parent, about her son, Branden, after they toured the bus. “It’s amazing what can be seen under these microscopes.”

The HPU Mobile Lab is integrated into HPU’s undergraduate education science curriculum and allows students to create experimental modules on HPU’s campus with the purpose of increasing the accessibility to sciences in the community.

“With the Mobile Lab, we can reach out to high school students and show what HPU offers,” said Kristen Brokaw, an HPU biochemistry major from Jackson, New Jersey. “It’s an example of the opportunities HPU students have to connect with the community.” ▲

HPU’s Mobile Lab is an example of the opportunities HPU students have to connect with the community.

– Kristen Brokaw, Biochemistry Major

Branden Jackson said the lab is one of the reasons he wants to attend HPU in the future.

“This is more interesting than regular labs,” he said. “In middle school, I wanted to get more into science. Now I see this, and it makes me want to study science at HPU.”

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Community Connector Junior Radu Grecu is a ‘SAY YES’ Scholar and a Bonner Leader A conversation with his High Point University admissions counselor set the stage for Radu Grecu’s success in serving his community.

As a high school senior, HPU and Duke University were Grecu’s top choices for college. When his HPU counselor told him he’d be a great fit for the Say Yes to Education program — a program through which HPU provides scholarships to students from Guilford County who demonstrate need but want to give back — Grecu knew HPU’s values aligned with his.

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“I look back and think, ‘What if I had never talked to my HPU admissions counselor?” says Grecu. “What if I hadn’t received this scholarship? What would I be doing instead?”

But Grecu did receive the scholarship, and Grecu is at HPU helping many throughout the city of High Point.

Values-Based Learning Say Yes scholars also become members of the HPU Bonner Leader Program, a four-year program that puts students at the front-lines of change.

The Bonner Leader Program promotes leadership development in students through participation in the civic responsibility and social innovation degree program. They also connect other HPU students to service projects in the community.

As a Bonner, Grecu was connected to the Macedonia Family Resource Center in High Point. There, he serves as the organization’s director of fundraising and works under the executive director.

And that makes sense. Grecu is an actuarial science major with minors in psychology and statistics.

His responsibilities include organizing events and fundraising efforts by reaching out to community partners.

“What I think is most influential about my scholarship is that it’s connected to the Bonner Program,” says Grecu. “You get the most out of your education when you give back to the community.”

Macedonia received a grant to purchase a van to pick up elementary school students and bring them to the center. Grecu helped initiate this afterschool program, which allows the children to work on their homework until their parents pick them up.

What I think is most influential about my scholarship is that it’s connected to the Bonner Program. You get the most out of your education when you give back to the community.

– Radu Grecu, ’21, Junior and Bonner Leader at Macedonia Family Resource Center

“Our after-school care program not only helps busy parents in the community, it also gives students the chance to work oneon-one with HPU Bonners, which gives them a chance to ask complex questions and learn at their own pace,” says Grecu.

Engaging Students In Service Grecu’s work with the elementary students and other community members gives him an inside look at what the community is like.

“Working at Macedonia has increased my communication skills with the community and has allowed me to see what people go through each day,” says Grecu.

Lasting Impact Grecu looks forward to connecting his colleagues with the community through events at Macedonia. He has two years until his Bonner capstone project is due. The capstone project is an organized effort that will become permanent practice at the organization where each Bonner serves.

“I want my capstone project to be related to the fundraising or accounting sides of Macedonia,” says Grecu. “I want to set up some sort of service that will help them in the future, whether it be requesting grants or organizing fundraising efforts. I want people to step into my role and be able to continue the work.”

Grecu has become a “community connector.” He connects HPU students to the community and vice versa. That’s what landed him a spot as community service chair for his fraternity, Sigma Nu.

He wants his service to have a lasting impact in the community, just like it has had on his life. Grecu wants to pursue a career in corporate finance or insurance in a bigger city. He wants to explore community grassroots efforts that may be different than the High Point area.

“By working at Macedonia, I’m an ambassador for the university,” says Grecu. “Community members are learning about the university through me, just like I’m learning about the community through them.”

“This opportunity at HPU has molded me into who I am today and what I want to do with my life and career,” says Grecu.

“I would not have been able to see or pursue my passions if it wasn’t for this opportunity.” ▲

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HPU’S THANK YOU TO VETERANS:

‘THEY CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY’ On a chilly Friday morning in November, they came.

They came with family and friends, in wheelchairs and walkers, wearing ball caps and jackets that spoke of their service from long ago.

They are military veterans, and they were proud. That was easy to see at HPU’s Veterans Day Celebration in the Millis Center.

HPU junior Tara Devens was one of a dozen students who greeted the veterans as they arrived on campus by the busloads. She wore three layers of clothing to stay warm and told every veteran she saw, “Thank you for your service.”

HPU sophomore Nick Mason stood inside with HPU’s color guard. He’s in Army ROTC, and being 6-foot-1, the tallest person in the detail, he held the American flag.

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Up front, at a table near the stage, sat Kaylor Ramey. She co-founded Bed Brigade, a nonprofit that builds as many as 75 beds a year for veterans in need.

Her work usually has her holding a drill. This time, on a Friday surrounded by hundreds of war veterans in a crowd of 1,200 people, she held her heart.

“When they stand up to sing, it about brings me to tears,” says Ramey, a junior double major in communication and nonprofit management from Columbus, Ohio. “They’re so dedicated to this country.”

When veterans come to campus, they arrive at a university known as a God, family, country school where HPU President Dr. Nido Qubein always speaks with American flags over his shoulder.

At the Veterans Day Celebration, Qubein stood in front of an American flag as big as any basketball court. During his

HPU HONORS VETERANS

speech, Qubein talked about how being an American is a blessing that should never be taken for granted.

Veterans do understand that. That’s evident in the stories they tell.

Gurney Lee Stroud went into the Army because of Pearl Harbor, and he lied about his age to get in. He was only 17. He then spent three years as an ammunitions supply officer during World War II. That included five months in North Africa.

Stroud is now 94. He graduated from then-High Point College in 1949. Today, because of a weak heart and kidney problems, he has his good days and his bad days. His health kept him from last year’s Veterans Day ceremony.

THE 2018 VETERANS DAY CELEBRATION INCLUDED:

But not this year.

100 FLAGS

His grandson chauffeured him, and at Table 45, they sat side by side. When Stroud heard the Army’s theme song, he stood. His grandson’s hand was behind his lower back for support. When the HPU Chamber Singers began “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” Stroud moved his hands like a conductor.

DONATED TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND G OVERNMENT BUI L DI NG S

He sang every word.

1,200 VETERANS

“I got out of my sick bed to come today,” Stroud said soon after the 90-minute program concluded. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

His grandson knows that.

“This validates him,” says Travis Stroud, the assistant chief of police for the city of High Point. “There’s not many World War II vets left. He’ll say to me, ‘Hey, I made one more (ceremony),’ and I tell him, ‘You’re the reason we’re here. Who knows what this world would look like without you.’

AND THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS WERE SERVED BREAKFAST AT THE EVENT

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“He laughs about that. But he knows they changed the course of history.”

At Table 97, Lester Douglas sat with his family. He’s 68, a father, a grandfather and a retired letter sorting machine operator with the U.S. Postal Service.

He also is a Vietnam veteran, a Marine.

VOLUNTEERS

He was a radio operator, a key job in any combat zone. He turned 20 in Vietnam. He stayed 364 days. In April 1970, he came home. He doesn’t talk much about his experience. But he does talk about coming home to no parades, no thank yous.

MADE IT POSSIBLE

HPU IS A

That hurt. But that has changed. That’s why he comes back year after year to HPU’s Veterans Day Celebration.

God, family

“Now that we’re getting our due, it is overwhelming to me,” he says. “It’s better late than never.”

& country

For those very reasons, Ramey builds beds, Mason holds a flag, and on a Friday morning in November, Devens says thank you to every veteran she sees.

SCHOOL

“It just makes my day,” she says.

“You can tell they care. Their eyes just light up.”▲

“The nation that forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.”

– President Calvin Coolidge

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Giving the Gift of Reading HPU STUDENTS DONATE THOUSANDS OF BOOKS TO LOCAL CHILDREN “I want to spend the rest of the day here!” said Omar Shkier, a Parkview Village Elementary student, after opening a box of books in his school’s library.

donating their favorite book and writing an inspirational message to the reader, we connect our newest students at HPU to the High Point community and our future learners.”

Seeing these kinds of reactions has become an annual tradition for freshmen at HPU. More than 1,000 books were donated to area elementary schools by the Class of 2022.

The Common Experience is a yearlong collaborative project that engages new students across disciplines as they make the transition to college. Every year the experience focuses on a central theme and allows students to immediately begin giving back to the community.

Through HPU’s Common Experience program, which includes a common read, new students were invited to share their favorite book with a local child by donating a copy when they arrived to campus for the start of the fall semester. The books were distributed at Montlieu Academy of Technology, Parkview Village Elementary, Welborn Academy of Science and Technology, Kirkman Park Elementary, Fairview Elementary and Oak Hill Elementary schools.

“I greatly appreciate HPU because we are in need of new books in the hands of our students,” said Silvana Mazo, Parkview’s librarian.

“One goal of HPU’s Welcome Week is to have the incoming class participate in a meaningful service project,” said Scott Wojciechowski, assistant vice president for Student Life. “By

Every year, Montlieu children look forward to receiving these books from and spending time with HPU students.

– Kim Scott, Principal of Montlieu Academy

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Kim Scott, an HPU alumna and the principal of Montlieu Academy, looks forward to the book giveaway event for many reasons.

“Every year, Montlieu children look forward to receiving these books from and spending time with HPU students,” said Scott.

For Meredith Burgess, an HPU student from Owings, Maryland, her role in the book giveaway meant so much.

“It’s nice to watch the books go back to the community,” said Burgess. “To actually see the kids react is amazing.”

Rosie Tarara, HPU’s Education Fellows coordinator, said she wants HPU students to see their impact on the community.

“It’s important for our HPU students to see how excited these students are and to realize the importance of giving back,” said Tarara.

HPU students only had a short moment in each classroom, but they had a lasting impact. ▲

HIGH POINT HEROES HPU Family Members Making a Difference They’ve climbed mountains – the real kind and metaphorical ones. Cancer, natural disasters, and tireless work are on the list of things they have — and continue — to overcome.

In spite of their trials, they’ve always embodied the spirit of High Point University’s caring people. In this installment of High Point Heroes, catch a glimpse of students, faculty and alumni impacting the world in positive ways.

Sophomore Helps Hurricane Victims Melvin Tejada was nearly asleep in his HPU residence hall when the phone rang.

“We need you to report at 0700 hours,” his commanding officer said on the other line.

The next morning, as North Carolinians braced for the arrival of Hurricane Florence, Tejada was heading toward it with his National Guard unit. It was the first time the 19-year-old sophomore was deployed on an official mission. For 13 days, Tejada and his unit served in eastern parts of the state that were heavily flooded and damaged.

Tejada, a native of the Dominican Republic, came to the United States during his last year of high school. After graduating, he joined the National Guard and enrolled at HPU.

Melvin Tejada

“Being a warrior means you are willing to face difficult situations,” says Tejada. “Even if it could harm you, so be it.”

Climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro They made it to the top, each on their own separate missions for different reasons.

But for Dr. Sarah Nielsen, assistant professor of human relations, and JT Mestdagh, ’18, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro symbolized the victory they’ve each found in their own lives.

Nielsen battled cervical cancer that turned into vaginal cancer.

Today, she is cancer free and working to prevent other women from these diseases. That’s why she and seven fellow hikers raised $11,000 to fund a cervical cancer screening site in Tanzania, where the mortality rate for women with cervical cancer is nearly 80 percent.

In August, Nielsen and her team climbed the mountain and presented their donation.

“Immediately after my diagnoses, I became focused on my purpose and what I wanted out of life,” she says. “One of those things is advocacy. Cervical cancer is almost entirely preventable, and no one should have to experience it.”

Meanwhile, Mestdagh scaled the 19,000-foot mountain to show people around the world that they, too, can accomplish what may seem to be unfathomable.

Mestdagh was born with VATER syndrome, which includes a range of birth defects in the digestive system, vertebrae,

Dr. Sarah Nielsen

JT Mestdagh

esophagus, trachea and other potential effects. So far, he has experienced 16 surgeries and many physical challenges to overcome. He also has dyslexia and was once told as a child that he’d likely be illiterate forever. But Mestdagh proved that diagnosis wrong by working extremely hard to graduate from high school, then attend and graduate from HPU. Scaling the mountain was no easy feat. Mestdagh requires daily bowel treatments, medication and lots of hydration.

The elements of Mt. Kilimanjaro pushed his limits, but he persevered to the summit.

“I want to encourage you. That’s my mission!” Mestdagh says to readers on his blog at jtmestdagh.com, where he also offers excerpts from a book he recently published. “I’ve gone through so much already in my life. I’m confident that whatever you’re facing right now, you can overcome it.” ▲

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HPU Supports Bennett College With A $1 Million Gift Dr. Phyllis Worthy Dawkins is the president of Bennett College, one of only two black women’s colleges in the nation.

On an important day in February — her college’s deadline for raising $5 million dollars — she stood surrounded by her closest supporters, including High Point University President Nido Qubein, to announce that Bennett’s campaign goal had been exceeded with $8.2 million in gifts.

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It was important for the survival of Bennett. The college could now make an appeal to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to reinstate its accreditation.

Qubein had helped make it all happen. Just three days earlier, when Bennett’s campaign was still a few million short, Qubein announced High Point University would donate $1 million to Bennett.

Qubein made the announcement after faculty voted enthusiastically in favor of the gift to support Bennett.

Faculty from both institutions came together for fellowship during the announcement.

But HPU had presented more than just a gift. During the announcement, Qubein also challenged others to support Bennett, which sparked a wave of contributions as the campaign came to a close.

During the final press conference, Qubein also presented more than $350,000 in additional gifts he had collected over the weekend from supporters such as BB&T, Old Dominion Freight Line and the Wyndham Championship, for which Qubein serves as honorary chairman.

“I am grateful for High Point University President Nido Qubein’s generosity and his guidance through this process,” said Dawkins. “Bennett College has been overwhelmed by the support of so many. High Point University’s gift is impactful, and we couldn’t have reached this important milestone without them. Institutions like Bennett and High Point University are strong, and when we work together, we are capable of achieving phenomenal results.”

The supportive relationship between Qubein and Dawkins drew national media coverage. The Chronicle of Higher Education, which is known as the national voice on higher education issues, called HPU’s gift “a show of support not often seen in higher education.”

Today, the small college that’s located just a stone’s throw from HPU’s campus, continues educating the next generation of black women leaders as it has for hundreds of years.

Qubein, who has completely transformed and raised $400 million for HPU, said the world is a better place with Bennett College in it.

Pictured from left to right are High Point University President Nido Qubein, Bennett College President Dr. Phyllis Worthy Dawkins, and Dr. Bob Brown, incoming chair of the HPU Board of Trustees, during Bennett College’s campaign finale. HPU’s $1 million gift represents the single largest gift received from a higher education institution.

“As the president of a university that is blessed with resources, advocacy and opportunities, I’m compelled by this excerpt from one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches,” Qubein said. “In the words of Dr. King, ‘Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.’ With the blessing of the High Point University Board of Trustees and faculty, HPU contributes $1 million to the Bennett College Transformation Fund. We are a better community with Bennett College, and I am grateful for the opportunity to help our friends who have invested their lives helping others. I hope you will join me in praying for Bennett College, advocating for Bennett College and investing in Bennett College. We are, after all, family.” ▲

A Show of Support Below are excerpts from the national media coverage of HPU and Bennett College’s partnership.

The Chronicle of Higher Education: “High Point’s donation is a show of support not often seen in higher education.”

Greensboro News & Record: “Bennett College gets a $1 million lifeline from High Point University.”

The Washington Post: “High Point University President Nido Qubein announced Friday that his school would make the contribution to Bennett College in nearby Greensboro.”

NPR Affiliate WFDD: “Qubein stressed the closeness of the two schools, both located in Guilford County, and their shared roots in the United Methodist Church.”

Associated Press: “The president of a North Carolina university says his school is making a $1 million donation to a historically black women’s college trying not to lose its accreditation.”

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Members of the Civitan Club packed more than 400 hygiene kits for those affected by Hurricane Florence.

The HPU family came together outside Hayworth Chapel for a vigil after the mass shooting inside a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Pharmacy students who are certified counselors in the North Carolina Seniors Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP) helped Medicare patients save more than $47,000 on their plans during Medicare Open Enrollment.

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HPU students, faculty and staff made an impact on the community during the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. More than 600 volunteers participated in 29 projects across the city of High Point to serve others through more than 1,500 hours of service.

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Faculty, staff and students from the Physical Therapy Department hosted a Halloween Fun Run 5K with the community.

HPU’s Student Council for Exceptional Children hosted the Halloween Special Pops Dance, where individuals with disabilities dressed in costumes and enjoyed a community dance.

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The fourth annual “Acatoberfest” was hosted by HPU’s three a cappella groups. The concert collected nonperishable food items for the Greater High Point Food Alliance.

HPU students volunteered at the 36th annual CROP Hunger Walk and raised more than $1,200 to help end hunger.

During the Hayworth Chapel’s Fall Pilgrimage, students traveled to Asheville, North Carolina, to experience different forms of worship and serve people experiencing homelessness.

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HPU’s Counseling Services and students partnered with Active Minds, a national nonprofit, for the Send Silence Packing event to help raise mental health awareness.

Students read stories in backpacks from people who lost a loved one to suicide.

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HPU’s third pharmacy cohort hosted a day of service. During their first week on campus, 59 students assisted Habitat for Humanity and the Washington Street Enrichment Program.

The Rev. Dr. Al Ward (left), HPU’s Clergy in Residence, began the Clergy Sabbath program to invite the clergy in the community to utilize HPU’s campus for prayer and research.

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REMEMBERING ROBERT CULP AND ALLAN BEAVER The High Point University family celebrates the lives of these important individuals, who contributed to HPU’s growth in many ways.

ROBERT CULP Robert Culp was a dedicated HPU advocate and prominent leader in the city of High Point. He served as executive chairman of Culp, Inc. and treasurer of the HPU Board of Trustees. Several generations of his family continue to operate the High Point-based business. His wife, Susan, has also been a constant champion for HPU and serves on the Board of Visitors.

In addition to their servant leadership, the Culp family contributed $1 million for the Culp Planetarium that will soon open on campus.

The Culp Planetarium will be housed inside the new Wanek School of Undergraduate Sciences. This threestory, 6,000-square-foot planetarium and lecture room space will include 125 seats and a 50-foot dome with a 4k projection screen and a state-of-the-art surround sound system. The facility will be equipped with programming to teach astronomy, earth science, anatomy and a variety of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) lessons for university students, as well as elementary, middle and high school-age groups in the community.

“The Culp family grew their business from the ground up, and they took risk to find success,” says Dr. Nido Qubein, High Point University president. “Their family is important to our city, and their values align with High Point University. We appreciate the exemplary leadership they have always modeled for our students.”

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ALLAN BEAVER Allan Beaver served as HPU’s Graphic Designer in Residence in the School of Art and Design’s Department of Visual Arts. Prior to joining the HPU family, he led successful advertising agencies in New York and collaborated with renowned artists such as Andy Warhol. He served as vice-chairman/ chief creative officer at his own agency, Levine, Huntley, Schmidt and Beaver, Inc. in New York, where he created campaigns for clients such as Subaru Cars, Matchbox Toy Cars, Jockey and Panasonic Electronics.

He earned the title of “Top 100 Creative People in the United States.” He was inducted into the New York Art Directors Club Hall of Fame in 1997 and The One Club Creative Hall of Fame in 2015.

Beaver taught at HPU for nearly 10 years, imparting not only his wisdom and abilities to his students, but also providing incredible industry connections and experiences. Examples include taking students to New York to visit Google and Pentatram Studios and to meet accomplished designers such as Milton Glaser, who is known for creating the iconic “I Love NY” design.

His students have gone on to launch careers at major companies such as Disney and Johnson & Johnson.

Alumnus Pursues Chemistry Ph.D. at Yale Gavin Coombs, ’14, was also accepted to MIT, Duke, UC Berkeley and UNC Chapel Hill On a hot July day, High Point University students dedicating their summer to undergraduate research break away from their work to meet and learn from HPU graduate Gavin Coombs.

Coombs is a Ph.D. candidate in Yale University’s Department of Chemistry. He has garnered a list of awards, landed research opportunities at Johns Hopkins University, and as an AfricanAmerican male who has built a stellar career in the sciences, has overcome a lack of diversity in the field.

As a 2014 biochemistry graduate, he knows what a rigorous path science majors are traveling.

He came home to HPU to tell students this: You can do it.

Commitment to Student Success When Coombs was a high school student in Baltimore, Maryland, he attended a college fair where he heard others saying great things about HPU. He drove south to visit HPU’s science facilities, and his experience matched the recommendations he’d received.

“There was a palpable dedication to pedagogy from the professors here,” says Coombs. “That sealed the deal for me.”

Dr. Heather Miller, assistant professor of biochemistry, became Coombs’ advocate inside and outside of the classroom. She guided him through research projects in the laboratory and encouraged him to pursue research opportunities. Coombs built skills and confidence that helped him secure two summer research experiences for undergraduates, commonly called REUs, at Johns Hopkins University.

His experience spanned beyond the lab, too. Through support from his professors and a travel grant from the Office of

Undergraduate Research and Creative Works, Coombs presented his research to audiences at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in Nashville, Tennessee. He also presented at the State of North Carolina Undergraduate Research and Creativity Symposium at Duke University.

“Gavin always walked the halls as if he were a second or third year graduate student,” says Miller. “That’s how he carried himself, how he spoke about science and how he interacted with his professors.”

Ivy League Acceptance After graduating from HPU, Coombs was a prime candidate for an impressive graduate school. He returned home to Baltimore and, thanks to the relationships he had built at Johns Hopkins through his summer REUs, landed a postbaccalaureate position there.

Meanwhile, his HPU experiences motivated him to apply to some of the nation’s top research universities. He knew that being part of a supportive research team was where he wanted to spend his career. In 2015, he was accepted into Yale.

“The importance of strong mentors can’t be understated,” said Coombs. “That is the biggest theme that characterized my time at HPU and informed my decision to go to Yale and further work with excellent mentors.”

Coombs has achieved many awards along the way and now shares his story with HPU students to help them achieve success as well.

“Gavin is a great resource for our students,” says Miller.

“In addition to his work as a Ph.D. candidate at Yale, he was also accepted into MIT, Duke, UC Berkeley and UNC Chapel Hill.” ▲

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From left to right, alumni Richard Budd, ‘63, Joe Budd, ‘83, Patrick Budd, ‘13, and Alex Budd, ‘18, stand alongside Richard’s 1924 Cadillac, a nod to the year HPU was founded.

Budd Family Embraces HPU Being family isn’t the only tie that binds Richard, Joe, Patrick and Alex Budd.

They have High Point University purple in their veins, too. These four HPU graduates represent three generations and multiple branches of the Budd family.

There are so many multi-generational families who appreciate the value of HPU’s education across the years. Below, get to know one of those families, as well as some of HPU’s biggest advocates.

Richard Budd, ’63 Richard P. Budd graduated from HPU with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and went on to become a successful entrepreneur and community leader. He has served as the president, CEO and currently serves as chairman emeritus of The Budd Group and Budd Seed, both based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He married his wife, Sylvia, in 1961 while he was a student at HPU. Budd joined the HPU Board of Trustees in 1982, served as chair from 2000-2005, and chaired the search committee that brought HPU President Nido Qubein to the university in 2005. Richard and Sylvia established the Richard P. and Sylvia Budd Endowed Scholarship to support students, giving preference to communication or business majors. Today, Richard is a lifetime member of HPU’s Board of Trustees.

He has also served in many capacities on a number of boards and organizations, such as serving as director, committee member and trustee for the YMCA. In 1992, Budd received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by former North Carolina Gov. Jim Martin.

“As an HPU student, my life took a positive turn,” he says. “The professors mentored me, and I found my love for business. I started what is now The Budd Group immediately after graduation, and I have been there 55 years. The caring development of each student has always been the trademark of HPU.” 118

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Joe Budd, ’83 Joe Budd, like his father, Richard, graduated from HPU with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He went on to receive his MBA from Wake Forest University in 1985 before joining the family business, The Budd Group, working in various roles in the Southeast. He is currently CEO and chairman of The Budd Group. Since graduating, he has remained connected to HPU and currently serves on the Board of Visitors. In honor of their family legacy, Joe has supported HPU through his gifts to the Richard P. and Sylvia Budd Endowed Scholarship.

“HPU instilled in me the values of hard work, giving back to the communities in which we work, and putting others before yourself.

I am grateful for my long-term relationship with HPU.”

Patrick Budd, ’13 Patrick Budd, the nephew of Richard Budd, graduated from HPU with degrees in communication and political science. After graduating, he spent five years with Richard Childress Racing on the communications team. Most recently, he joined Old Dominion Freight Line’s marketing team as the community and public relations representative.

Patrick serves as a member of the HPU Alumni Board of Directors, and he has served two terms on the Young Alumni Committee. He is also a member of the Young Alumni President’s Circle Donors and the League of Loyal Alumni.

“HPU completely transformed my life from the minute I stepped on campus,” he says.

“Culturally, I made my best friends and learned to seek meaningful relationships with colleagues, professors and faculty — most of whom I’m still connected to.

Professionally, my post-graduate jobs at both Richard Childress Racing and Old Dominion Freight Line are because of relationships I made through HPU. HPU is not just a place to study. It’s a place for a transformative educational experience, and I am a living example.”

Alex Budd, ’18 Alex Budd, the grandson of Richard Budd and son of Joe Budd, graduated with his bachelor’s degree from HPU in May 2018. He is currently getting his MBA at HPU while working as a project manager for the family business, The Budd Group.

While pursuing his undergraduate degree at HPU, Alex was involved in many ways on campus, especially as a Business School Peer Facilitator, a mentorship program for incoming students. He is a member of the League of Loyal Alumni, a society that honors alumni who have supported HPU with gifts for three or more consecutive years.

“HPU has taught me the values of integrity, hard work and making sure that you give back to the community,” he says. “In addition to my class work, my main focus at HPU was my involvement as a Business School Peer Facilitator. Mentoring freshman business students was a very rewarding experience. I hope to have a lifelong relationship with HPU as they have given me the values and tools to be successful in whatever I pursue.”

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HPU Homecoming: A Campus Tradition

Top: The HPU Cheer Team energized crowds of students and alumni during Homecoming 2018. Bottom left: Alumni returned to campus to reunite with their former classmates during events such as the Greek Brunch. Bottom right: The Alumni Awards Ceremony honored 13 outstanding alumni.

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I received guidance from my professors, who were wonderful to me.

What they taught me has been very valuable to my life.

– Jerry Murdock, ’62, CEO of IPS Packaging in Greenville, South Carolina, and recipient of the Alumni Service Award

Members of the High Point University alumni family returned to campus Oct. 5-7 for Homecoming Weekend 2018. The annual celebration brings Panthers from different generations together to reconnect with their former classmates and professors while participating in a variety of activities and longstanding traditions.

The event-filled weekend included the Annual Alumni Awards Ceremony, class reunions, tailgating, student performances, athletic events, a chapel service and more. Alumni also partnered with service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega and The Bed Brigade, a nonprofit co-founded by HPU student Kaylor Ramey, in making blankets for a local shelter that serves homeless veterans.

“HPU always eagerly anticipates the arrival of our alumni for the weekend’s festivities. We’re so excited to welcome them back home,” says Hayley Harris, ’14, director of alumni engagement.

“It’s very special for generations of High Point Panthers to return with their families and friends to relive fond memories and special moments. This includes traditions on campus, as well as favorite restaurants and places to explore throughout the city.”

One of the annual highlights of Homecoming is the recognition of alumni who have made outstanding accomplishments and demonstrated a commitment to their communities and the university. Thirteen HPU alumni were honored at a banquet, hosted by the Alumni Association inside Congdon Hall.

SAVE THE DATE

Homecoming

2019 October 25-27

Join fellow classmates and current HPU students to celebrate this special occasion with the annual Alumni Awards Ceremony, sporting event and tailgate, reunions, familyfriendly block party and more.

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Don Caine, ’65 Lifetime Achievement Award

Mark Webb, ‘83 Alumnus of the Year

Don Caine, ’65, received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Caine founded Camco Manufacturing in 1966 with one employee and one product. He and his wife, Teresa, live in Greensboro and are generous supporters of HPU students and the new Donald R. and Teresa B. Caine Conservatory, which is currently under construction, and the Donald R. and Teresa B. Caine Endowed Scholarship. Don is a member of the Board of Visitors, and Teresa is a member of the Board of Trustees.

After he accepted the award during the ceremony, Lisa Cook, Don Caine’s daughter, shared his impressive journey with the audience.

“My dad didn’t have the normal college experience,” she said. “He was working full time, and he was married. But earning his degree from HPU gave him the confidence and the platform that he needed to get started on his road to success. Receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from this university, which in and of itself is a fantastic story of success, is truly an honor.”

Mark Webb, ‘83, was named Alumnus of the Year.

Webb, CEO and president of Interstate Foam and Supply Inc. in Conover, North Carolina, and his wife, Jerri, have generously donated gifts in honor of their family to support the Webb Conference Center and Webb School of Engineering. Their son, Connor Mosack, is a current HPU student. HPU President Nido Qubein often describes the Webb family as a symbol of the American Dream.

“It’s always inspirational to come back on this campus,” said Webb, a member of the HPU Board of Trustees. “So much has changed at my alma mater, but in many ways, so much is still the same. The caring and supportive professors that we had in the early 1980s — I know HPU still has those today. When I go into Roberts Hall, I get this funny feeling because that’s 122

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Jerry Murdock, ’62 Alumni Service Award

where the modern foreign language department was, and I had to take French. I had no knowledge of it at the time, but Professor Carol Head taught our class and encouraged us.

Without her, I don’t know if I could have passed French.

“I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention Dr. Richard Bennington, my advisor in marketing and management.

He was the wise counsel I could go to, and he would always guide me in every way. I think about him a lot and the values I learned from him. It’s an honor to continue being part of HPU, and I’m very proud of everything this university has accomplished.”

Jerry Murdock, ’62, received the Alumni Service Award.

Murdock, who is CEO of IPS Packaging in Greenville, South Carolina, received the award for his continued involvement in various service initiatives that support HPU, student scholarships and his local community. He grew up in The Children’s Home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Together, he and his wife, Joan, established the Jerry W. and Joan S. Murdock Endowed Scholarship to support HPU students.

He also served in the Navy and led an impressive career in sales and business. He started IPS Packaging in 1976.

“I grew up in a children’s home ran by the Methodist church, then came to High Point College with a full scholarship and ran track,” Murdock said. “I didn’t have to pay anything and was very appreciative of that. I knew one day I wanted to repay that scholarship for people like myself. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it, but I made this commitment to myself. Fortunately for me, I was able to start my own company in distribution. Now I’m very grateful for my 42 years in business. When I came to High Point, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. But I received guidance from my professors, who were wonderful to me. What they taught me has been very valuable to my life.” ▲

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Ten distinguished alumni who have graduated within the past 10 years were also honored with HPU’s 10 Under 10 Young Alumni Award. They are as follows:

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Mikhaela Ackerman, ’13, Financial Crimes Consultant at Wells Fargo in Charlotte, North Carolina

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John Brown, ’16, Professional Basketball Player at Acea Virtus Roma European Basketball Team in Italy

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Matthew Burns, ’15, Corporate Transactional Attorney at Kirkland & Ellis in Chicago, Illinois

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Ariel St. Clair, ’14, Program Officer at Internews Network in Washington, D.C.

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Austin Dillon, Daytona 500 Winner, Professional Stock Car Racing Driver at Richard Childress Racing in Welcome, North Carolina

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James Jadotte, ’14, Program Manager at Google in San Francisco, California

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Mary Beth Long, ’10, Occupational Therapist in Denver, Colorado

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John Marsicano, ’15, Public Relations Manager at Magnolia in Waco, Texas

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Stephanie Schwartz, ’14, Marketing Program Manager at Office Depot in West Palm Beach, Florida

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Tyler Yusko, ’13, Engineering Leadership Recruiter at Google in New York City

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FACES OF ENGAGEMENT

With the continued support of alumni, families and friends, High Point University delivers an extraordinary educational experience for each student.

From providing internship opportunities to supporting $40 million in annual scholarship assistance awarded each year, the leadership and investment of the HPU network makes a meaningful and measurable difference in the lives of tomorrow’s leaders.

Caring people are the foundation of the HPU family. These pages provide a glimpse of alumni and family leaders who are helping students build bright futures, as well as ways alumni and families can get involved.

Brandon Browning, ’13 Social Media Ambassador Browning is an alumnus residing in New York City who advocates for HPU on social media. Promoting university events, Panther Pride and the Alumni Association to personal networks is vital to staying involved.

“I enjoy serving as a social media ambassador because it’s a way to stay connected to the university from afar. I continue to support and be an advocate for HPU because I think it’s important to give back to the place that gave me so much. During my time at HPU, I was presented with countless opportunities, lifelong friends, great mentors and an environment that allowed me to thrive in my own way. Thanks to my experience, I will always give back.”

Leni Fragakis, ’12 Alumni Peer Agent Fragakis identifies and connects with her HPU classmates to encourage them to support student scholarships and their alma mater with an annual gift. Through this role, Fragakis, from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has a direct impact on HPU’s standing in national ranking organizations like The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report, both of which consider alumni giving in their methodology.

“I am indebted to my university because of the countless number of opportunities the staff, professors and HPU President Nido Qubein provided for me to continue to become my best self. Maintaining my connections from my time at HPU is important to me, but my favorite and most rewarding part of being a Peer Agent is meeting fellow alumni in my area who are just as passionate about the university.”

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Richard “Rik” Danburg, ’69 Reunion Chair Danburg served as one of the Class of 1969’s Reunion Committee Chairs. In this role, Danburg and the committee connected with classmates and invited them back to campus to attend reunion activities at Commencement 2019. In collaboration with the Office of Alumni Engagement, Danburg planned the weekend’s festivities for his fellow classmates.

“Being on the committee offered me an opportunity to reach out to our classmates, to instill in each person the importance of the 50th class reunion, and to renew lifelong friendships that first began at High Point.”

Susan Spaulding, ’80 Admissions Advocate Spaulding, located near the Washington, D.C. area, ensures HPU continues to admit top students by referring potential students who may be interested in attending HPU. As an admissions advocate, alumni are able to attend college fairs near their hometowns to speak about their own HPU experience. Admissions advocates enable the university to reach a greater number of students who would thrive at HPU. “I am passionate about bringing new students to HPU because of the extraordinary education, endless opportunities and lifelong friendships.

HPU provided a foundation for me and my three sisters as we began our professional lives after graduation.”

Natalie Marten Fopeano Career Connector Parent Fopeano, president and CMO at TUMI Outerwear, is the mother of a recent graduate and a senior. She serves as a career connector for HPU students. She hosted a group of students for this year’s HPU in the City, New York City program. In addition, she spoke to students in the Phillips School of Business about how she developed her career path and what she’s learned along the way.

“When it comes to growing in a company, it isn’t so much about your abilities as much as it is about how you deal with people,” says Fopeano. “Servant leadership is crucial, and it is important to be willing to be in the trenches with your people. You’re never too good for any job in your company, and your door should always be open to them.”

CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT TODAY AT ENGAGE.HIGHPOINT.EDU By joining the HPU alumni online community, you gain access to exclusive information about High Point University.

Online, discover a list of: n n n n n n n

Upcoming Events Alumni Association Benefits Social Media Networks to Join HPU Connects Chapters in Your Area Alumni Class Notes Family Resources Many more ways to engage in the life of YOUR UNIVERSITY!

HPU alumni are pictured at an HPU Connects event in Washington, D.C.

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HPU Attracts $43 Million in Philanthropic Gifts During the Last Year During the 2017 – 2018 academic year, High Point University received generous support from alumni, parents and friends of the university totaling $43 million in gifts. Their investment furthers educational opportunities for students through new scholarships, academic programs, technology and facilities.

HPU received more than 10,000 gifts last year, each of which is important. Below are highlights of families who made significant investments at HPU. In total, the university has raised $378 million since Nido R. Qubein became president in 2005.

The Mahler family generously gave $2 million for the new promenade that will be located near Congdon Hall. It will be named the Mahler Promenade in honor of their family’s support. In 1983, Peter Mahler founded PAM Trading Corporation. He and his wife, Mary, along with their daughter Punkin Parker, her husband, Alan, and son Alan A., as well as their daughter Janet Fisher and her husband, Wayne, are long-time supporters of HPU and have made previous contributions for improvements to campus facilities. Their gift recognizes the university’s impact on the city of High Point.

Rob L. and Kathleen M. Siegfried established a $1.5 million endowment to support the newly created Siegfried Leadership Fellows Program. Robert Siegfried had a dream of starting his own CPA firm and did so in 1988. He has grown his business from a small company to a nationwide firm. The Siegfried’s son, Rob, graduated in 2017, and their second son, Steven, is currently enrolled. HPU’s Siegfried Leadership Fellows Program is a four-year experience that emphasizes mentoring for individual student growth and solidifies self-awareness, leadership skills and opportunities.

Joe and Judy Norelli established a $1 million endowment to sustain the study abroad programs available at HPU. Their daughter, Lea, graduated from HPU in the spring of 2018.

The Norellis wanted to give to HPU after Lea’s impactful experience studying abroad in Australia. The family’s gift will continue to support the academic programming of study abroad opportunities for HPU students. Cottrell Hall’s Global Education Suite is named the Norelli Global Education Suite in their honor.

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Kenneth and Jana Kahn established the Kenneth F. and Jana S. Kahn Extraordinary Staff Award, which will fund an annual award to honor two HPU employees who provide dedicated service to the campus community and live out the university’s mission to provide students with an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people. Kenneth Kahn is president of LRP Media Group, a global media company serving education and business professionals since 1977. Jana Shellington Kahn serves as chief marketing officer alongside her husband. The Kahns are members of the President’s Leadership Cabinet and are supporters of the HPU Fund for Extraordinary Education and Disaster Relief Fund. Their daughter, one of five children, is a student at HPU.

Emily Millis-Hiatt, a resident of High Point and alumna of High Point University, has established an endowment for HPU’s Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic. The gift created the Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic Support Endowment, which will support salary, benefits and professional development for physical therapists in the clinic.

Millis-Hiatt graduated from HPU in 1973. She has been a major benefactor of the university supporting scholarships, facilities and programs. The state-of-the-art clinic serves Piedmont Triad residents who have unmet physical therapy needs. The clinic provides exceptional, free physical therapy services to people who are underinsured or uninsured in order to improve their health and quality of life.

Dr. Harry “Frosty” and Catharine Wilson Culp, longtime residents of High Point and members of the High Point University family, generously established an endowed scholarship. The Harry R. and Catharine W. Culp Endowed Scholarship will be given to students pursuing a career in the field of medicine with a focus on underserved populations. The Culp family has previously given to the HPU Fund for Extraordinary Education as well as several other scholarships at HPU, and Frosty Culp serves on the HPU Board of Visitors. The Culps have supported many nonprofits, including the Community Clinic of High Point, High Point Regional Medical Center Foundation Board, Family Service of the Piedmont, String and Splinter and the High Point Country Club.

The Infinity Garden is named in honor of the Minor family. Bill Minor, ‘50, supported the garden in memory of his late wife, Louise D. Minor, who loved flowers, shrubs and gardens and had a gift for cultivation, floriculture and landscaping. The Minor family has supported HPU in many ways throughout the years, such as establishing the Bill L. Minor Endowed Scholarship Fund and contributing to the Student Athlete Excellence Fund, the Mariana H. Qubein Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, the Steel Magnolia Tree Project, the HPU Fund for Extraordinary Education, the Panther Club, and numerous other academic and athletic programs on campus. Through these efforts, Bill Minor hopes to help students with financial needs attend HPU and experience the university that had such a profound impact on his life.

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HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY

P ? p Quiz!

How well do you know HPU? Test your knowledge!

1 2 3

When do HPU students have access to their success coach, a mentor who guides their college experience? a. Never! (What college provides that?) b. Senior year c. Before they even begin their freshman year d. Sophomore year Which of the following global leaders serve in residence at HPU? a. Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak b. Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph c. Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall d. All of the above What percentage of freshmen have the opportunity to begin conducting undergraduate research at HPU? a. 10% b. 100% c. 0% — They have to wait until they are upperclassmen like at other universities. d. 20%

4 5 6

How do HPU freshmen receive first priority housing? a. Applying Early Action b. Begging c. Applying Early Decision by Nov. 1 d. Competing against classmates You’re unsure of your major as an incoming freshman. What do you do? a. Panic like most college students across the country. b. Wing it — hopefully it all comes together. c. Utilize HPU’s Project Discovery, a program designed to determine your academic passions. d. Just pick something. It’s not important to love your major.

How many freshmen are able to take a class led

by Dr. Nido Qubein, HPU president, entrepreneur and consultant to CEOs? a. 100% b. 10% c. 50% d. 20%

Rotate the page to see the answers and add up your score!

5 to 6 Correct: Extraordinary Advocate Great Job! You obviously know and love HPU. This only scratches the surface of everything HPU has to offer, and there’s so much more you can learn by visiting HPU’s beautiful campus!

3 to 4 Correct: HPU Fan Not bad! It looks like there’s more you can discover about HPU. Don’t be shy— visit our campus in person or online by registering at www.highpoint.edu/visit

0 to 2 Correct: Panther in Progress Oh no! You need to come visit HPU ASAP and learn more about all the innovative programs HPU offers! Schedule your visit today at www.highpoint.edu/visit

Answer Key: 1. (C) 2. (D) 3. (B) 4. (C) 5. (C) 6. (A) Total Correct_____ Add up the number of times you chose the correct answer!

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Get involved,

download the HPU App today!

1. Visit www.highpoint.edu/mobile-apps/ 2. Click on “Download on the App Store” for Apple devices or “Get it on Google Play” for Android devices.

3. Click “Install” and enjoy!

Step 1:

Visit www.highpoint.edu/mobile-apps/

Step 3: Step 2:

Click the appropriate download option.

Click “Install” and enjoy!

Presorted Bound Printed Matter U.S. Postage PAID PPCO

One University Parkway High Point, N.C. 27268 USA 336-841-9000

highpoint.edu

COMING SOON

THE NIDO AND MARIANA QUBEIN ARENA, CONFERENCE CENTER AND HOTEL

The $120 million facility will become home to HPU’s men’s and women’s basketball programs, as well as a venue for major events, speakers, concerts, entertainment, academic symposia and recreational activities.

4,500 ARENA SEATS

2 ,500 HOTEL CONFERENCE SEATS SMALL BOUTIQUE

For more details on the arena, turn to page 25. To view a live feed of arena construction, visit www.highpoint.edu/arena.