Table of Contents
- Message from Dr. Brandon A. Frye
- New Student Orientation - Class of 2027 Pirates
- The Pirate Experience replaces Engage
- ECU GROW
- WZMB Equipment Update
- Student Affairs Partner Feature Darden
- Learn to Play Pickleball
- News Hires and Separations
From the Desk of Vice Chancellor Brandon Frye
The often fast-paced college campus is typically expected to slow down at the conclusion of the spring semester and when Commencement is in the proverbial rear-view mirror. That wasn’t the case for the Division of Student Affairs at the end of the spring 2023 semester.
Sadly, on May 15th, during our divisional awards celebration ceremony, an apartment fire started at Treybrooke Apartments. This caused several of our team members to have to depart the event and respond to the crisis. I am so proud of how our Student Affairs staff jumped into action, knowing the apartment complex was likely to have ECU students as residents.
As a result of the fire nine Pirates were directly impacted by the fire and immediately displaced from their homes. In fact, several of the students narrowly escaped their apartment, which was engulfed in flames, and lost everything except what they grabbed on the way out. These were students from the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, Brody School of Medicine, and School of Dental Medicine.
The students lost computers, laptops, phones, furniture, clothing, and even vital equipment they purchased to use in medical and dental settings. The amazing news is that nobody was injured, but, in essence, they lost everything they owned.
Within an hour, Dean of Students (DOS) staff were working the situation both on-site at the apartment complex and from the office. They worked side-by-side with the American Red Cross and the Treybrooke staff to contact and locate the student residents so that they knew Pirate Nation was here to support them in this time of crisis.
DOS and divisional staff also connected with faculty and staff in the colleges to better understand the student needs both inside and outside the classroom. In the days to follow, ECU staff from Campus Living, Disability Support Services, the Counseling Center, the Purple Pantry, IT support from Laupus Library, and more rallied together to provide basic needs such as food and housing options and worked with the American Red Cross to give the students gift cards to buy clothes, toiletries, and other personal items.
Multiple student organizations such as Religious Life and Student Government Association (SGA) joined in to assist these students with financial support as well as technology, food, and clothing needs.
Chancellor Rogers often talks about One ECU, and during this harrowing situation, we saw the very best of East Carolina University rise to the challenge and live out being One ECU.
I have learned in my first four months how wonderful this campus, community and my division actually are, and I am so proud of our students, staff and faculty who assisted. I was told by so many before I arrived that the ECU Pirate Nation was something special. They were so incredibly right!
As we move through June into July, Student Affairs is again ready to engage and serve with our campus partners as we hold ten, two-day orientation sessions where we will educate, inform, motivate, embrace and entertain the students and families who will join ECU this fall.
Thank you to all those who support our students, but more importantly I want to thank the Student Affairs team for all they do to advance student success.
Go Pirates!!
New Student Orientation - Class of 2027 Pirates
ECU Parent and Family Programs and the Office of Student Transitions offered a Facebook Live on June 1 to talk about everything families and students needed to know about the upcoming New Student Orientation. During this discussion these offices covered the orientation schedule, course registration, what an incoming student should do to prepare, and helpful tips. Parents who were unable to watch the live are able to visit the Parent and Family Programs website for the replay or the ECU Parent and Family Portal.
During the Facebook Live, current ECU parents provided feedback in the comment section by offering helpful advice to incoming parents...
New parents...... Listen to this information. The staff had this move in thing down to a science. They will answer all your questions. My child just graduated and we can say this is one of the most important meetings you will have all year. - Michael Greenham
New Student Orientation Dates
- Monday and Tuesday, June 12th and 13th
- Wednesday and Thursday, June 14th and 15th
- Monday and Tuesday, June 19th and 20th
- Wednesday and Thursday, June 21st and 22nd
- Monday and Tuesday, June 26th and 27th
- Wednesday and Thursday, June 28th and 29th
- Wednesday and Thursday, July 5th and 6th
- Monday and Tuesday, July 10th and 11th
- Wednesday and Tuesday, July 12th and 13th
- Monday and Tuesday, July 17th and 18th
The Pirate Experience
The Division of Student Affairs has transitioned away from Engage to a new platform for managing student organizations and campus events. The site is with a new company, CampusGroups, and is called The Pirate Experience. 70% of the top universities worldwide use CampusGroups as their campus community platform.
During this transition, all organizations and departments, members, and officers have been transferred from Engage to The Pirate Experience. You can access The Pirate Experience at https://thepirateexperience.ecu.edu. Login for The Pirate Experience uses ECU’s Single Sign-On (SSO) so you will simply need to use your usual ECU username and password.
This website is a great way to find student organizations, programs and activities on the events calendar. This all-inclusive platform helps students get more from their experience outside the classroom.
If your department does not have a presence on the site, if you’re not sure if you have a page on the site, or you don’t know who has access to your page, please reach out for assistance.
At any point, contact Hank Bowen in the Department of Student Engagement at bowenh@ecu.edu for more information or assistance.
ECU GROW: Cultivating Student Employee Success in the Division of Student Affairs
By Dr. Greg Corack, Campus Recreation & Wellness, ECU GROW Co-Chair | Gretchen Brockmann, Campus Living, ECU GROW Co-Chair | Dr. Helen Mulhern Halasz, Student Affairs Assessment, Research, & Planning
Career-related competency development among the 750+ Student Affairs student employees was the main driver of the ECU GROW (Guided Reflection on Work) framework relaunch this year. In March, students assessed their employment experience on the Five Core Competencies of GROW: Accountability, Adaptability, Effective Communication Skills, Effective Reasoning, and Teamwork. The GROW Working Group and Division of Student Affairs partners successfully rebooted the initiative in Fall 2022 with supervisor training sessions, strategic communication campaigns, and administration of an assessment tool/survey to 800+ student employees. Many thanks to the more than 55 Student Affairs Educators for their time and effort in integrating ECU GROW into their supervision of our important student employees!
The infographic highlights the positive impact of Student Affairs student employment on career-related skills growth and making connections between current job and future career planning. This year’s success reflects the collaborative efforts of the ECU GROW Working Group members:
- Co-Chairs Gretchen Brockmann, Campus Living/Residence Life, & Greg Corack, Campus Recreation & Wellness
- Shonda Clemmons, Student Centers; Lisa Mizell, Office of Student Transitions; Helen-Mulhern Halasz, Student Affairs Assessment, Research, & Planning Liaison; Cherie Speller, Pirate Media 1; Audra Thomas, Student Centers; Fabian Wilkerson, Campus Living/Transit; and Carol Woodruff, Career Services.
WZMB Equipment Update
WZMB radio students in Pirate Media 1 and staff are celebrating a studio equipment update that’s elevating the overall sound and quality of its live on-air broadcasting. The equipment update marks a pivotal moment in WZMB history as it’s the first time in decades since the station has seen an overhaul in its broadcast equipment.
On May 2, 2023, David Gernoske, WZMB’s engineer, installed a new Audio Processor, Telephone Hybrid system, FM Receiver and a Modulation Monitor. A Wheatstone Air-4 Kit, an audio console that allows students to mix and produce their live audio, was also installed, replacing WZMB’s 30+-year-old legacy console. This modernized board is revolutionary as it officially transitions WZMB from analog to digital programming.
WZMB DJs are ecstatic to operate this equipment for the first-time this summer for live programming and are excited for their listeners to experience the improved and professional sound.
Student Affairs Partner Feature Darden
Summer 2023 with the Darden Center
The Darden DOCC (Drop-Off Childcare) is a university affiliated drop-off childcare program located on ECU's campus in the Nancy Darden Center. The Darden DOCC is designed to help ECU faculty, students, faculty, and staff parents by providing childcare during the evening times of their day.
The Darden DOCC is open from 6PM to 9PM, Monday-Thursday – all year round. They service ECU faculty, staff, and student-parents who have children the ages of 1 to 8. They occupy two classrooms of the Nancy Darden Center. One classroom is for one- to four-year-olds, and the second classroom is for ages five- to eight-year-olds.
Are you a student parent? If you are, you may qualify for COMPASS.
What is COMPASS?
- Childcare On-campus: Maximizing Parents’ Academic Support and Success
- Subsidized childcare slots in the Nancy W. Darden Child Development Center
- Reduced-fee evening drop–in childcare
- Support services like parenting education and specialized advising
New Intramural Sports Educational Series - Pickleball!
Note! These Intramural (IM) events are open to ECU faculty/staff and don’t require a Campus Rec and Wellness (CRW) membership.
Every Thursday from May 25 - August 10 (from 11:30am-1pm), CRW will be hosting a new Intramural (IM) Sports Educational series called “IM Doing It”.
The first event in the series will be focusing on Pickleball which currently has over 36 million players in the USA alone with expected growth for many years to come. CRW wants to help our ECU / Greenville community learn this great lifelong activity that can help promote physical activity at all ages.
No Equipment? No Partner? No Idea on what to do? No Problem!
The purpose of this series is to eliminate barriers of why you can’t and create an environment where you can! Campus Rec and Wellness will provide everything you need- paddles, balls, people, and instruction for you to learn the game. This is a drop-in, come when you can, event – No RSVP’s required. The location each Thursday is Elm Street Park (located at 1055 S. Elm Street in Greenville).
It is recommended that participants bring sunscreen and a water bottle and wear athletic attire for this event.
For more information, contact Justin Waters at 252-737-2713 or watersj@ecu.edu.
New Hires and Separations
New Hires
Dr. Kelly Wynne Lettieri - Staff Counselor at Center for Counseling and Student Development
Dr. Lettieri will meet with and provide counseling services to students as well as outreach services throughout the campus. She will also supervise trainees completing their practicum and internships with CCSD. Kelly recently relocated back to Greenville, NC with her husband, Alex, and one-year-old son, Joseph. She enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends, and loving on animals.
Previous Education and Employment: Earned a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. in Counselor Education from ECU. Received a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from Regent University. Served as a high school counselor for D.H. Conley High School in Greenville, NC for six years. Most recently was employed for four years as an Assistant Professor for the Counseling program at Missouri State University.
Antwan Warren - Student Health Services Administrative Support
The primary purpose of this position is to ensure complete knowledge and understanding of all technical medical records functions within the daily operations of Student Health. This position assumes full responsibility for the retrieval and data entry processes of patient information as well as any and all necessary consent forms needed for patient treatment, and include, but are not limited to; medical records requests, scheduling patient appointments, scanning information into the correct location within the EMR and/or practice management system.
Antwan is from Snow Hill, NC (Greene County). He has no kids, but he loves children and has 4 nieces and 1 nephew. He loves to watch movies, whether it’s at the actual theater or in the comfort of his home. He also loves to travel and experience different places and things. He has an Associate degree in Business Administration and is looking forward to going back to school to get his Bachelor’s in Business Administration with a possible concentration in Management. Antwan’s ultimate goal is to obtain his master’s degree someday.
Justin Boyd - Student Health Services Pharmacist
The primary purpose of this position is to provide a wide range of drug information as it relates to dosage, drug allergies, drug interactions, and polypharmacy. The position must review profiles prior to medication dispensing, supervise pharmacy technicians in the preparation of medical products, and counsel patients concerning drug information, as well as review the physician’s medication order and prepare or oversee filling prescriptions.
Justin received both his Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry and his Bachelor of Arts in History from ECU in 2006. He received his PharmD from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2010 and practiced in retail pharmacy for 13 years prior to coming to Student Health Services. He was born and raised in Washington, NC. ECU is a special place for him and his wife, as they met at ECU while pursuing their undergraduate degrees.
Jewel Brown-Thomas - Urgent Support Staff Counselor at Center for Counseling and Student Development
Jewel has the privilege of serving at the counseling center for student development as an Urgent Support Staff counselor! Her role is to assess the safety and wellbeing of students and provide brief interventions and support when needed.
Over the last 10 plus years, she served as a Child Welfare Social Worker, to include child abuse and neglect investigations and foster care.
Jewel is a native of Eastern, NC and comes from a family of Proud Pirates! She holds both her BSW and MSW from ECU!! She is happily married to an amazing individual, Earl Thomas, and share a beautiful daughter, named Londyn. In her free time she enjoys reading, music, travel, and spending time with family and friends!
Daniel McFadden - Student Engagement Assistant Director for Organization Development
Daniel joined the Student Engagement team on June 1st as the Assistant Director for Organization Development. He will oversee student organizations, organization fairs, and leadership training for student organization officers among other things. Daniel comes to us from Cameron University in Lawton, OK where he worked in student activities and the student center there for the past five years.
Lauren LaMantia - Assistant Director and Career Liaison to the College of Engineering and Technology
A North Jersey transplant and Greenville resident since 2018, Lauren LaMantia is Career Services' newest Assistant Director and Career Liaison to the College of Engineering and Technology. After working two semesters as a Virtual Career Counselor in 2021-2022, Lauren is happy to be back with the team in this full-time role. Lauren holds her M.Ed. in Higher Education from American College of Education, a B.A. in Family Services from Montclair State University, and is a Certified Professional Resume Writer. Working in diverse areas of education for almost 25 years, higher education is where her passion lies and Lauren is excited to assist and support the personal and professional growth and development of our ECU students.
Kaitlyn Gumann - Office of Student Transitions Assistant Director
Kaitlyn started at ECU in the Summer of 2021 with University Housing and has moved to the Office of Student Transitions. Kaitlyn has been working in Student Affairs for four years at ECU and Arizona State University, where she worked in both University Housing and Orientation settings. She is passionate about creating a positive environment for students to thrive and getting students connected to the university community. Kaitlyn has always enjoyed welcoming and preparing students for their future, so she is excited be a part of the OST team.
Separations
- Jennifer Vaughan – Medical Records Manager – Student Health – June 8
- Katherine Krieger – Associate Director – Disability Support Services – June 9
- Beth Bengala – Director of Central Reservations Office – Student Centers – June 16
Credits:
Created with images by Creative Services, University Photographers, SA Communications and by merrymuuu - "Gold wall texture background. Yellow shiny gold foil paint on wall sheet with gloss light reflection,".