Congratulations Class of 2010!

The East Carolina Alumni Association would like to say "Congratulations!" and "Welcome!" to our newest Pirate Alumni the Class of 2010! On May 7 the Alumni Association will officially welcome approximately 3,500 graduates into the ranks of alumni. We are so proud of these students for earning their East Carolina degree and wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors. Always remember that the Alumni Association is your lifelong connection with ECU!

Robert H. Wright Alumni Leadership Award

The Robert H. Wright Alumni Leadership Award, named for the institution's first president, is the most prestigious award presented to seniors during annual spring commencement exercises. The award recognizes academic achievement at East Carolina, service (both to the University and the community), and leadership qualities (both potential and exhibited). The recipients should exemplify those special characteristics which would cause him or her to be recognized as one who will make a positive difference in his or her profession and community and must have an overall GPA of at least 3.5 through the first semester of the graduation year. The 2010 Robert H. Wright Alumni Leadership Award recipients are: Daniel Landon Allen - biology and chemistry major with a minor in business administration from Wake Forest, NC Brooke Jacinda Barton - health services management major with a minor in business from Lake Toxaway, NC Kyle Shane Bowen - an industrial distribution major with a concentration in logistics and a minor in business from Chesapeake, VA Jason Lewis Morton - music education major from Jacksonville, NC Nina Fay Rose - public relations and journalism major from Charlotte, NC Congratulations to each of these award recipients for their stellar ECU careers. We know they will accomplish much for the Pirate Nation to be proud of in their futures.

Road Race and Fun Run Huge Success!

The 3rd Annual Pirate Alumni Road Race and Fun Run held on Saturday, April 17 in Greenville was a huge success! Thanks to the generosity of our participants and sponsors, the Alumni Association raised more than $5,000 for our scholarship program. There were 212 runners to finish the 5K run and 18 participants in the fun run. Check out our race results here - by category, overall. Thank you for participating! The Alumni Association would also like to thank our race sponsors: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Core Fitness & Wellness Center, Chris Gauland '88 of Eastern Carolina Foot and Ankle Specialists, Culligan Water, East Carolina Road Racing, Minges Bottling Group, Occasions Party & Tent Rentals, Orthopaedics East, Panera Bread, RoadID, Runner's World, Scott Investigations, Southern Insurance Agency, and WITN-TV. Raffle prizes were provided by: Boli's, Bradford Creek, Buffalo Wild Wings, Bicycle Post, Chef's 505, Chico's of Uptown Greenville, City Hotel & Bistro, Coastal Fog, Daughtridge Gas, Finelli's Cafe, Hibbett Sports, Jersey Mike's, Longhorn Steakhouse, Moe's Southwest Grill, O'Charley's, Outback Steakhouse, Play It Again Sports, Precision Tune Auto Care, Shell Rapid Lube, Sport Clips, Subway, Tie Breakers Sports Bar and Billiards, and Tier 1 Fitness.

"Thank You" Service Month Participants

Each year Service Month continues to improve and grow, and April 2010 was no different! Ten service projects were held in communities across the Pirate Nation, from ECU's campus north to New York City across the Midwest to St. Paul, MN and down to Gatlinburg, TN. More than 130 enthusiastic Pirates took time out of their busy schedules to lend a helping hand in their communities. Thank you for your support of ECU's motto Servire, meaning "to serve." A special thanks to the Alumni Association's regional contacts that planned service projects in their area! Your hard work is appreciated. Charlotte - 20 volunteers, 1,200 lbs. of food donated, $200 collected for food bank Fredericksburg - 2 volunteers Greensboro - 15 volunteers, 20 lbs. of food donated for food bank Greenville - 30 volunteers, $2,579.76 raised by team, $84,000 raised by ECU for Relay For Life Harnett County - 15 volunteers, more than 250 items donated to Literacy Center Minnesota - 2 volunteers New York City - 5 volunteers Raleigh - 10 volunteers, $700 for March of Dimes Smoky Mountains - 6 volunteers Tarboro - 26 volunteers, 10 lbs. of food donated for food bank

ECU Faculty Award Winners

The Robert L. Jones Award for Teaching Excellence and University Alumni Awards for Outstanding Teaching are given each year by the Alumni Association to recognize and reward arduous work in the classroom. Recipients are chosen by their peers through the Academic Awards Committee of the Faculty Senate. This year's recipients are: Robert L. Jones Award for Teaching Excellence Dr. Michael Harris, Assistant Professor in the Department of Management in the College of Business University Alumni Awards for Outstanding Teaching Dr. Kindal A. Shores, Assistant Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies in the College of Health and Human Performance Ms. Wendy C. Whisner, teaching instructor in the Department of Exercise and Sports Science in the College of Health and Human Performance

Save the Dates!

Mark your calendar for these annual events! The Alumni Association is already hard at work planning our fall activities and we hope you will be a part of them. Pirate's Bounty Scholarship Auction - Thursday, October 14 at the Hilton Greenville [item donation form],  [sponsorship form] ECU Alumni Scholarship Classic golf tournament - Friday, October 15 at Ironwood Golf & Country Club [sponsorship form] Alumni Awards Dinner and Ceremony - Friday, October 22 at the Hilton Greenville Homecoming - Saturday, October 23 Watch your inbox and your mailbox for more information soon. We're looking forward to seeing you this fall!

May's Pirate Career Call

Are you working on changing jobs? Will it require relocation? If so, then join other job seekers for Pirate Career Call on Thursday, May 6 when our career experts will discuss negotiating salary, moving expenses, and housing. Career Calls are complimentary for alumni and friends and include a PowerPoint presentation so that participants can follow along. Calls are conducted via teleconference from 12 noon-1:00 p.m. EST. May's Pirate Career Call: Thursday, May 6 - Negotiating Salary, Moving Expenses, and Housing Pirate Career Calls are a collaboration among the East Carolina Alumni Association, the ECU Career Center, and ECU's Office of Human Resources. Missed a call? Check our archives.

A Pirate's Life for Me!

Don't miss A Pirate's Life for Me! this May as hosts Paul Clifford and Jennifer Watson interview two eastern North Carolina coaching legends: Ronald Vincent '69 and Dennis "Dink" Mills. Friday, May 14 - Ronald Vincent '69, J.H. Rose High School Baseball Coach and North Carolina's winningest high school baseball coach Friday, May 28 - Dennis "Dink" Mills, retired eastern Carolina high school coach and administrator  A Pirate's Life for Me! airs at 6:00 p.m. the second and fourth Friday of the month during the spring on Pirate Radio 1250 & 930 AM in eastern North Carolina. Listen live anywhere in the Pirate Nation at www.PirateRadio1250.com. Missed an episode? Listen to our archives.

Home Safety During Vacation

While you’re away on vacation, the last thing you want to worry about is burglars invading your home and stealing your personal belongings. So before you leave, take these precautions. They’ll help protect your property and give you peace of mind. Lock all windows and use dead-bolts on exterior doors. Install security bars on sliding doors to prevent them from being lifted off their tracks. Leave a few shades or curtains open to maintain a “lived-in” appearance. Set light timers in a few rooms so that it appears people are at home when it’s dark. Stop newspaper delivery so that papers don’t pile up at your door. Store cash, jewelry, and other valuables in a bank safe-deposit box. Don’t leave an outgoing message on your answering   machine announcing you are on vacation. Lower the volume on the machine and your telephone ringer. Install outside lights, preferably with motion detectors. If you can afford one, install and activate a security system. Or at the very least, put security system warning decals on doors and windows to deter intruders. Finally, ask your neighbors to keep an eye on your property and to notify you if they suspect a problem. Even better, ask a friend or relative either to house sit or to stop by daily to collect your mail, put out your garbage, and check that everything’s okay. Don’t forget to exchange the favor yourself. See how Liberty Mutual can help you protect your home.

CBS College Sports

Follow East Carolina Athletics with the Pirates Mobile iPhone App! Don't miss out on your favorite Pirates sports while you're on the go! The Pirates Mobile iPhone application allows fans easy access to up-to-the-minute news, scores, schedules, rosters, and streaming audio and video for the 2009-2010 school year. Whether you follow ECU football or baseball, soccer or tennis, you're covered. For just $4.99 a year you'll get headlines with breaking news by sport from ecupirates.com; scores, including score updates, schedule and venue information, and results from past events; complete schedules for each sport by date, time, location and opponent with home and away team rosters and athlete bio information; and on-demand audio and video clips as well as streaming audio for live events. Download the Pirates Mobile iPhone App today! Click here for more CBS College Sports. Tun in--the game is on!

Pirate Alumni on Twitter

The Pirate Nation mourns the loss of Amanda Wall '06... [More] ECU team seeking answers about painting... [More] The April Fools edition of The East Carolinian... [More] Flying US Airways in April? Be sure to flip through their magazine for a feature on Greenville. Or just read it here... [More] Results from the Pirate Alumni Road Race: By Category...[More], Overall... [More]

Event Photos

Charlotte Service Project for Second Harvest - April 8 Relay For Life - April 9 Scholarship Luncheon - April 10 ECU in Tarboro - April 13 Special Populations Prom - April 17 Great Smoky Mountains National Park Service Project - April 17 Alumni Improving Literacy in Harnett County - April 17 Pirate Alumni Road Race and Fun Run - April 17 Greenville Networking Breakfast - April 21 Minnesota Service Project - April 24 Wake County March of Dimes - April 24 Senior Candlelight Induction Ceremony - April 26 Retired Faculty Association Social - April 27 Raleigh Networking Breakfast - April 28 Senior Week Farewell Feast - April 28 Senior Week Service Project - April 29

Kymia Nawabi '03 

Kymia Nawabi is an artist in New York City whose work often portrays her perception of some of mankind's inner struggles and conflicts. Her work is often inspired by struggles she faced growing up Iranian-American. Kymia's work has been displayed in a number of galleries throughout the United States since 2004, including the Queens Museum of Art, Artspace in Raleigh, NC, and Lowe Gallery in Atlanta. She most recently had an exhibit at the Fine Arts Gallery of Westchester Community College in Valhalla, NY. Actress Claire Danes owns some of Kymia's work.

Along with being a working artist, Kymia also plans to teach art at the college level. She recently said to YourNabe.com about being an art teacher, "I don't think that human beings could survive without art. Not just visual arts, but any of the arts. If you're hoping to perpetuate those practices within the world, I feel like there is no better honor."

Kymia received a master of fine arts from the University of Florida after graduating from ECU.

Meredith Prudden Goins '96

Meredith Goins is a regional contact for the East Carolina Alumni Association in the Knoxville, TN area. Meredith recently planned the Great Smoky Mountains service project where she and other volunteers cleaned up a 1-mile section of the Spur near Gatlinburg.

“Being a regional contact allows me to serve my local community while letting others know about ECU. Tennessee is volunteer country, and so many soon-to-be college students don’t know other options besides the universities within Tennessee,” said Meredith on why she volunteers for ECU.

In her day job, Meredith identifies and recruits scientists, doctors, and engineers for the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education for the Department of Energy. These professionals then serve on peer review panels for NASA, the CDC, the Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health in addition to other state and federal entities.

Interested in volunteering with the Alumni Association? Contact Kendra Alexander at 800-ECU-GRAD.