2023 Recipients
Onolunosen (Ono) Abhulimen
A member of the ECU Honors College, Ono is earning a degree in Biology with a concentration in Molecular and Cellular Biology and plans to be part of the Brody School of Medicine’s incoming class of 2023. Intentional about advocating, educating, and raising awareness for health equity, she has received multiple recognition awards for her work with Students for Equitable Health Outcomes (SEHO), an organization she founded as a freshman and is the current President. Ono started an educational initiative to teach North Carolina public school students about the intersection between COVID-19, health disparities and health outcomes through lesson plans she developed. Inspired by a study abroad experience in Milan, Italy, Ono worked with a team of students to create a color-changing bandage that could detect infections based on the pH change at the wound. That project was presented at research symposiums at ECU, UNC-Wilmington and Harvard.
Matt Blount
A Public Health major with a concentration in Pre-Health with plans to obtain his Master of Business Administration Degree at ECU and eventually continue to medical school, Matt has also completed minors in Composite Natural Science and Business Administration. During the pandemic, he helped launch the on-campus flu and covid clinic model – HealthDemic that continues to be utilized today. Matt is a founding member of the ECU chapter of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. Building on his fraternity’s philosophy of service, and to honor his mother who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes while a student at ECU, Matt created Greenville’s JDRF One Walk. Since February 2022, the event has raised more than $70,000 for type 1 diabetes research, pushing the fraternity to the top with the most community service hours and philanthropy money raised nearly every semester.
Teresa Hupp
A member of the ECU Honors College, Teresa is majoring in Nursing through ECU’s College of Nursing with plans to begin work at Novant Health in Charlotte as a Women's Health nurse in their new graduate residency program. Through the College of Nursing, Teresa studied abroad in Antigua, Guatemala to help improve Guatemalan community health with the distribution of water filters, and lessons on hygiene and disease prevention. There she also volunteered at rural community pop-up clinics and at a malnutrition center for mothers and children. Her research with ECU’s Dr. Kim Larson to investigate advanced care planning engagement within ENC’s Latino population led to multiple co-authorship and presentation opportunities for Teresa. She also served as the Executive Vice President for the university’s Panhellenic Association where she served as the association’s representative on other campus-related boards and helped to bring keynote speakers to the general student body.
Calli Jon Massengill
A member of the ECU Honors College, Calli Jon is majoring in Special Education – Adapted Curriculum in the College of Education. She plans to teach in a Title One school in Eastern North Carolina and will eventually pursue a Master’s Degree in School Administration. A passionate volunteer for the College of Education, Calli organized blood drives for the College to benefit The Blood Connection in Greenville. She also mentors prospective high school students interested in ECU’s College of Education. Her community service extends to advocacy issues as well, working with ECU’s Student Government Association to help pass legislation to support sexual assault survivors. Calli spent time in the Czech Republic teaching and researching the implementation of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) as part of a study abroad program with Dr. Tosha Owens.
Wrenn McCrae Whitfield
With plans to attend the University of North Carolina Adams School of Dentistry following graduation, Wrenn is majoring in biochemistry with a concentration in biology. She will also earn a minor in business administration and a certificate in entrepreneurship. Wrenn helped to establish and currently serves as the Project Coordinator for the ECU School of Dental Medicine’s Hyde County Outreach Clinic, an organization committed to providing oral healthcare to the residents of Hyde County that have not had access to care for over 10 years. In addition to being a founding Executive Board member of the Rotaract Club of ECU and ECU Smile Squad Honor Society, Wrenn spearheaded a partnership with JOY CommUnity Center to involve various student organizations in activities for local children and oral health education events.