ALUMNA TEACHER TAKES TOP HONOR

“If you aren’t having fun and engaging with interesting experiences that uplift you, you won’t get much out of life.”

– Abbey Starling Nobles ’14

Southeast Region Teacher of the Year

Abbey Starling Nobles ’14 wishes she had a recording of when she was named Southeast Region Teacher of the Year. “I was so shocked I think my jaw dropped for 15 minutes while people were talking about me! I was so honored,” Nobles said.

An English teacher at New Hanover High School, she sees the award as “a team win…a win for NHHS, a win for our students and win for our staff.”

Nobles holds degrees in English with a concentration in secondary education and international studies with a Spanish minor. After applying to several schools her senior year of high school, she said, “UNCW chose me. I received the Teaching Fellows scholarship specifically to the university. Being from Wilmington, I thought I needed to leave my hometown to get a plethora of new experiences, but I was wrong.” Once she arrived on campus, she didn’t look back. Her hometown took on new life as she dove into her studies. She also traveled abroad, worked two jobs on campus and joined Physical Grafeeti, the hip hop dance team, leading her mom to ask if she was ever going to come home!

Nobles advises future Seahawks to “look at their college experience as a shopping spree and fill your cart with every experience you possibly can, meet people, talk to people you don’t know, get to know your local community, enjoy new and challenging experiences, trust yourself and your intuition and do things because they seem FUN!”

She recalls now-retired English faculty member Dan Noland telling her, “If you don’t have fun writing it, no one will have fun reading it.” Nobles says the same goes for life. “If you aren’t having fun and engaging with interesting experiences that uplift you, you won’t get much out of life.”

– C.C.

Transformational Change

Plans are moving forward for the renovation and expansion of Randall Library.

With $56 million allocated by the North Carolina General Assembly, the 118,000-square-foot, three-story renovation and expansion project includes 80,000 square feet of new building construction, renovations of the existing building, and the addition of a connecting bridge, like the one that joins Fisher University Union and Fisher Student Center. The groundbreaking ceremony was held May 19. “This expansion allows us to grow in new directions to meet the demands of today’s students and faculty,” said Dr. Lucy Holman, associate provost for teaching, learning and library services and dean of the Randall Library. “With increased technology and a variety of adaptable learning and event spaces, the new library will continue to be the intellectual heart of the campus and serve as a model of learning on display.” Plans also include consolidating all special collections and university archives into one new space: The Center for Southeast North Carolina Archives and History. “We are working with community partners to become a hub of local history for our seven-county region,” said Dr. Holman. The center will have a centralized reading room for researchers to study a wide variety of historical documents related to local politics, economics, the environment, civil rights, the local events of 1898, legislative records, local news coverage and more. The library will also have expanded tech spaces including digital maker spaces, virtual and augmented reality labs and a data visualization lab.

– Krissy Vick

“I am grateful for the opportunity to build a future grounded in honesty, framed by hope and secured with faith.”

Roseboro Named Chief Diversity Officer

Dr. Donyell Roseboro has been named chief diversity officer at UNCW. She has served as the interim chief diversity officer since July 2020. Under Dr. Roseboro’s leadership, the university has launched several initiatives, including a new Bridge Program (transitional support to college students from underrepresented populations), NextGen Post-Doctoral Fellowships (for doctoral candidates who hope to join UNCW faculty), and the Diversity and Inclusion Fellows Program. She oversaw major renovations of Centro Hispano and the Upperman African American Cultural Center. Dr. Roseboro also worked with the Chancellor’s Renewal and Change Accountability Committee that reviews the university’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. “Serving as the interim CDO has reinforced my love for this university and its people,” said Dr. Roseboro. “It has restored my belief in our collective power for good. The commitment I have witnessed from students, staff and faculty inspires me to strengthen this work with intent and purpose. This is an architectural process. I am grateful for the opportunity to build a future grounded in honesty, framed by hope and secured with faith.”

– V.J.