Saturday, May 08, 2004

May 8, 2004

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The University of North Carolina at Wilmington awarded more than 1,500 undergraduate and graduate degrees today in two ceremonies in Trask Coliseum.

At the 1:30 p.m. ceremony for degree candidates in the College of Arts and Sciences, U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. A copy of the citation may be found at McIntyre Citation. Commencement exercises for graduates of the Cameron School of Business, Watson School of Education and the School of Nursing were held at 9:30 a.m.

Each graduate was congratulated by UNCW Chancellor Rosemary DePaolo or Interim Provost Paul Hosier. In addition, the following students were recognized for outstanding academic or leadership performance at the afternoon ceremony.

The UNCW Alumni Association Scholastic Achievement Award is presented to the graduate who recorded the highest grade point average in his/her respective class and whose academic work was completed exclusively at UNCW.

Jennifer Marie Nomides, from Furlong, Pa., is the December 2003 recipient of the UNCW Alumni Association Scholastic Achievement Award. Nomides earned a bachelor of science degree in marine biology, a minor in chemistry, with honors in biology. While enrolled at UNCW, she spent five months in Australia studying marine biology. She has taken the MCATs and is applying to medical schools in North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Nomides volunteers at the Port City Community Church in the children’s ministry program. Her long-term goals include becoming an overseas medical missionary and she has already participated in mission trips to Jamaica, the Philippines and Papua New Guinea. She is interested in pediatrics or general medicine.

Rebecca Lynn Tatum of Raeford, N.C., received the 2004 William A. Bryan Senior Leadership Award. The award, co-sponsored by the UNCW Alumni Association and the Center for Leadership Education and Service, is given annually to a graduating senior who has exemplified outstanding leadership throughout his or her years at UNCW.

Tatum is also a UNCW Teaching Fellow with a 3.93 GPA. In the last few weeks, Tatum has been inducted into the Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) Leadership Honor Society, received the Pandion Society 2004 Woman of the Year Award, the Senior Medallion Award from the Division of Student Affairs and the Teaching Fellow Service Award. She has been an employee at the UNCW Center for Leadership Education and Service for over two years where she was actively involved in service to the Wilmington area and to the UNCW community. She has participated in, or led, six alternative break service trips from as far away as New York City to as near as Pender County, and participated in scores of other volunteer activities. She is a member of FOCUS, Tri-Beta and Circle K. As a member of Global SERVE, she has helped build houses for families in Juarez, Mexico, and on the Rosebud Reservation in Mission, S.D. After graduation she will observe teaching practices in England. Tatum will return to UNCW for one more semester to complete a second degree in creative writing, graduating again in December 2004. She plans to become a middle school teacher in the areas of language arts and science.



Holly Leigh Mitchell of Cary, N.C., won the Hoggard Medal of Achievement, which is awarded to the graduating senior who has shown the most improvement during his or her years at the university. The award recognizes hard and honest endeavor which has resulted in great self-improvement, and all facets of a student’s character and performance are taken into account. The Hoggard Medal is presented annually in honor of the late Wilmington College president John T. Hoggard. Mitchell transferred to UNCW from Cape Fear Community College in fall 2000. She decided to major in the Education of Young Children Program in the Watson School of Education. Recognizing that she would need to work harder and longer than others, and despite suggestions that she consider another major, she committed herself to her goal. She repeated courses and teacher education entry tests as necessary to earn admission to the Watson School, impressing her peers, her faculty, and school personnel with her effort and determination. By fall 2002 she had a current semester GPA of 3.25 and a cumulative GPA of 2.884. Over the next two full semesters and a summer session she worked diligently and her overall GPA rose to 3.059. This semester she did her practicum at the Pre-K Center at Howe, earning a 4.0 and raising her overall GPA to 3.176. Mitchell intends to continue her professional development next fall by beginning her Masters in Education in Birth through Kindergarten Interdisciplinary Studies in Education and Development.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Mimi Cunningham, university relations, 910/962-3171 or e-mail cunninghamm@uncw.edu.