Monday, November 08, 2010

Age is just a number for University of North Carolina Wilmington student Amanda Smith, whose commitment to improving North Carolina has earned her an elite spot as a panelist at the North Carolina Governor's Conference for Women on Nov. 9 in Raleigh.

Smith, a public sociology major, will be part of a panel of four influential young women whose accomplishments have made a difference in N.C. Moderating the panel will be Jenny Yeager Kaplan, deputy director of the White House Council on Women and Girls.

Smith will discuss the research and community service she facilitated at the Wilmington Housing Authority (WHA) Hillcrest Community Campus over the past year through her UNC Wilmington classes. Her research focuses on engaging with WHA Hillcrest Community residents through education programs in order to assess the needs of the community and to develop programs to address those needs. This research was selected and showcased at the Colonial Academic Alliance Undergraduate Research Conference in Richmond, Va., in April 2010.

Regarding her participation in the conference panel, Smith said, "This conference will not only allow me to showcase my research but to meet other speakers and learn from what they have to share. Sociologists have a unique knowledge of how the world around them works, and I feel that it is their duty to share that knowledge for the betterment of society."

Smith is available for media interviews by request prior to and after the conference.

Media Contact:

Joy Davis, Marketing and Communications, 910.632.3903 or davisjc@uncw.edu