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Student Life
student Life 136TH COMMENCEMENT
Resiliency of Fall 2020 Graduates Noted at 136th Commencement
Exercises Eagle pride was on full display during the 136th Commencement Exercises, despite the shifting of the traditional in-person celebrations to a virtual ceremony on Dec. 5.
APPROXIMATELY 642 GRADUATES earned degrees, with 434 receiving their bachelor’s, 202 earning master’s, five earning Juris Doctor degrees from the School of Law, and one completing the Ph.D. in integrated biosciences.
The fall graduating class endured a number of unusual circumstances during their final college months, including a viral pandemic, a social justice movement spurred by the killing of unarmed African Americans, and a historic U.S. presidential election where a record-breaking 161 million Americans cast ballots.
Chancellor Johnson O. Akinleye highlighted the resiliency of the fall graduates in his address, noting that “collectively, [they] are a group of scholars who are determined, adaptive, disciplined and focused.”
University of North Carolina Board of Governors member Pearl Burris-Floyd also praised the graduates, stating that “[their] efforts are enthusiastically acknowledged and appreciated by all of the System leaders.”
Akinleye gave special recognition to doctoral recipient Ariel Williams and COVID-19 frontline hero George Price, who earned an undergraduate degree. Williams, a Greensboro, N.C., native, focused her dissertation on lipid and glucose dysregulation in African Americans with Type 2 Diabetes
Above: The family of fallen senior Shayla Marie Chavis accepted her degree.
under the guidance of professors Sean Kimbro, Ph.D., and ClarLynda Williams-Devan, Ph.D. Williams hopes to pursue a career working on health disparities.
Price, a U.S. Army veteran, began working toward his bachelor’s degree in nursing as an NCCU transfer student after serving as a medic and licensed practical nurse in the military. During the pandemic, he worked at the University of North Carolina Medical Center in its medical/surgical unit as part of a capstone experience required by his degree. Price also served as a Food Lion MVP student ambassador, leading NCCU’s team to win $10,000 in a contest that supports hunger-related initiatives, such as campus-based food pantries, community gardens, food recovery efforts and the like.
The university also awarded two posthumous degrees to two fallen Eagles. Sylvia A. Rice Claytor was a senior when she died in February 2020. She was on track to earn a degree in nursing.
Senior Shayla Marie Chavis also died suddenly in August 2020. She was working toward a Bachelor of Science in chemistry.
Fulfilling their Eagle volunteer requirements, Fall 2020 class members contributed more than 50,000 community service hours, translating to a $1.38 million boost to the state’s economy.
BY QUIANA SHEPARD
642
GRADUATES
æ
434
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES
208
GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES
To view a rebroadcast of the 136th Commencement Exercises, click here.
student Life
137TH COMMENCEMENT
Eagles Return to Campus for Spring Commencement
SPRING’S 137TH COMMENCEMENT SAW APPROXIMATELY 974 GRADUATES RECEIVE THEIR DEGREES ON CAMPUS. The May 8, 2021, ceremonies included some members of the winter and spring classes of 2020, who had to forego in-person commencement because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chancellor Johnson O. Akinleye addressed the undergraduates gathered at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium, offering praise for their persistence despite the difficulties of the last year.
“While we know the work has just begun in making America a better and more equitable country, as NCCU graduates you will supply the world with innovation, ideas and solutions that will further improve our society for the next generation,” Akinleye said.
Alumna Jasmine Crowe, ’05, offered remarks at the 8 a.m. undergraduate service, where 608 students received their degrees.
Crowe, an award-winning social entrepreneur and nonprofit business leader, encouraged graduates to have confidence in their abilities and embrace potential failures as a means of uncovering their true talents.
“Even if you fail, you will have learned some lessons; and storms pass,” said Crowe, who founded the successful nonprofit Goodr in 2017 after developing several different short-lived business ventures.
Alumnus James H. Johnson Jr., Ph.D., ’75, the William R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kenan-Flager Business School, spoke to 285 graduate students and 81 Juris Doctor recipients at a noon ceremony.
974
GRADUATES
à 608
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES
90,349.02 SERVICE HOURS UNDERGRADUATES CONTRIBUTED TO THE COMMUNITY --------------------Valued at $1.38 million
366
GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREES
JAMES H. JOHNSON JR., PH.D.
student Life Student Researchers Share Discoveries at N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences
OUR NCCU STUDENTS TOOK CENTER STAGE at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in April to present their research to the public. The four are all graduate students enrolled in a science communication course taught by Julie Horvath, Ph.D., head of the Genomics and Microbiology Research Lab at the state museum and an NCCU microbiology professor.
A’siah Thomas, a first-year graduate student in biology and biomedicine, described the advantages of the zebrafish model in her talk, “Are Zebrafish the Future of Research.”
She has worked with faculty researcher Andy P. Li, MD, Ph.D., to examine genes that play a role in exodermal tissues, such as the skin.
Thomas said researchers use zebrafish in studies because they are easy to maintain in laboratories, mature quickly, and have transparent bodies that allow scientists to view the organs being studied.
Her goal is to attend medical school after earning a master’s degree and eventually become a professional medical examiner.
Donia Kased is studying for her Ph.D. in integrated biosciences and is hoping for a research career studying causes and treatments for human disease.
Her presentation, “Battle of Science Against Cancer: Mutations in Minority Populations,” examined genomic differences that may lead to cancer.
Kased said African Americans have a 33% greater likelihood of dying of cancer than the general population, based partly on genetic variations in the DNA sequence. She has been working with NCCU Assistant Professor Nathan Wymer, Ph.D., to investigate the impact of three common mutations on the growth and spread of cancer.
With more study, Kased believes their work will lead to better treatment options for non-white cancer patients.
Nadine Thomas, a candidate for the Ph.D. in integrated biosciences, has developed an interest in plant-based medicines. Her career goal is to become a research scientist in the field of medicine.
Thomas’ presentation was titled “Using Natural Products to Treat Cancer: Small Molecules are Still Hot.”
She explained that small molecules extracted from plants are being investigated for their potential to treat certain types of cancer. For example, some plants in the Clusiaceae family have been found to regulate the enzymes in immune cells and inhibit cancer growth. Other plant extracts have been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects but no toxic side effects, holding promise for future use in treating patients. Her research advisors are chemistry professors Omar Christian, Ph.D., and Nathan Wymer, Ph.D. Jeffrey Shipman, a first-year graduate student in biology, has been working with NCCU professor Vijay Sivaraman, Ph.D., to study the effects of vaping on the lungs. Shipman reported that more than 8 million Americans are electronic cigarette users, although not much is known yet about its health effects. In “Vaping + COVID-19: A potentially bad combination,” he explained that investigators used a mouse model for their research, exposing some animals to nicotine vapers then infecting their lungs with a coronavirus variant. They found that mice exposed to vaping experienced more severe lung impairment than those not exposed. Next, the investigators will try to determine whether nicotine levels or other factors, such as chemicals in flavored vapes, contribute to the severity of illness. Shipman said the work was part of an overall effort to examine biological and social factors that increase COVID-19 risks. The presentations were part of the museum’s Virtual Triangle SciTech Expo in April.
BY RENEE ELDER
To view the presentations, click here.
Truth and Service in the Information Age
Eagles Partner with Google to Bridge Digital Divide
NCCU students are wellversed in community service, leadership and stewardship, but what does that look like in the information age, where problems such as lack of internet access aren’t easy to discern?
In 2016, NCCU and Google Fiber formed the first HBCU-run Community Leadership Program, or CLP, under the Google umbrella to address issues surrounding access and digital literacy. Overseen by NCCU Chief Information Officer Leah Kraus, the program empowers students to have an impact on the surrounding community.
Kraus said the students use a three-legged-stool approach, asking three key questions: “Does your community have access to broadband? Do they have access to a device other than a phone? Do they have digital literacy or the understanding of how to use the tools at their disposal?”
While providing students with up to as many as 500 hours of volunteer service, the program also brings in leaders from tech organizations such as Google and Cisco, as well as other fields, to engage with students and offer advice.
Tia McLaurin, program manager at Google, said she reached out to NCCU to launch the project because of the Eagle campus’s reputation for service. She saw the commitment from day one.
“We knew we had something special when hundreds of students applied,” McLaurin said.
“They were ready to teach those ever-important digital skills. I could tell that this was passion work for them. It’s super inspiring and worth noting that Leah has been the linchpin for this program. There’s something to be said for the CIO of a university jumping in the trenches to get this work done.”
Over the past five years, Google Fiber has donated $45,000 toward the effort. The student leaders come from a variety of majors, including internet technology, communications, history and law.
They reach out to residents and local agencies – most recently, Head Start and the Durham Literacy Center – to pinpoint their needs and address a wide range of skills, from resume building on LinkedIn to managing spreadsheets for monthly expense tracking.
Working in the communities surrounding NCCU, students meet with residents and service agencies to identify needs and develop possible remedies.
But it is up to the students to implement the plan.
“We lead and we decide on the curriculum,” said Ammarah Haynes, an NCCU junior studying computer science and business. “Taking ownership of the process has given me more confidence and shown me that you can teach and learn from anybody, regardless of age.”
Digital skills may be taken for granted by those who have used the internet and technology all their lives. However, many people from all walks of life haven’t developed those skills because of lack of access to high-speed internet or upto-date hardware.
The skills are important for a variety of reasons, including the fact that employers often expect new hires to dive into work using Google docs or other popular applications without instruction.
Along with the technical skills, digital fluency also includes safety precautions.
Ramya Mulugu, a firstyear law student, said “digital stranger danger” is something newcomers to tech may not be familiar with.
“We’re already seeing these new fraud schemes with COVID, where new or less-savvy internet users are trying to sign up to receive the vaccine and are drifting into murky territory,” Mulugu said. “The program is working to help them navigate potential threats.”
After updating the curricula during the fall of 2020, the students turned to webinars to teach their classes.
Maurice McKellar, a junior in internet technology, said he misses the camaraderie of meeting in-person with a team, but he still enjoys the work.
“Obviously it has been different, but the energy of helping people is still there,” McKellar said. “Working with people to get their resumes built and get them active on LinkedIn to further their professional careers gives me a sense of pride.”
BY ROBERT LEWIS
