Former Student Athlete Turned Mentor

Martin Jarmond ’01 oversees day-to-day operations at The Ohio State University Department of Athletics, but his most important job is being a mentor to student-athletes.

“There is nothing better than being able to help someone and for them to say that you played a small role in how they developed or where they ended up,” said Jarmond, deputy athletic director and chief of staff at The Ohio State University.

The support Jarmond received as a UNCW student-athlete sparked a desire to help young people develop and navigate their own journeys.

Jarmond, who was recently named to the Sports Business Daily Journal's Forty Under 40 Class of 2017, was a member of the UNCW men’s basketball team from 1998-2001. He served as team captain and was selected for the CAA All-Academic team in 2000. One of his fondest memories at UNCW was when the team won the CAA tournament in 2000, which punched the Seahawks’ ticket to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history.

“I’ll never forget all of the people that lined the streets coming into town and all over campus when we pulled into Trask,” he recalled. “It was as if the entire Wilmington community all came out to welcome us home. The pride and joy that our Seahawk basketball team brought to campus and the community is something I’ll never forget.”

Read more at We Are UNCW.

Announcing New Alumni Chapter Leaders

The Alumni Association has nine alumni chapters and groups which are represented by dedicated volunteers. Chapters which are led by Steering Committees have an executive leadership that serves two-year terms. The association is excited to welcome Brad Barbour '02, '03M; Jensen Caudle '05; Jenna Curry '08 and Virginia Teachey '09 as our 2012-2013 chapter leaders.

Brad Barbour '02, '03M at a past
Triangle Alumni Spring Mixer

Brad Barbour '02, '03M is the owner of TRC Staffing Services in Raleigh. An example of his professional networking expertise was shared on the alumni blog in July. After working in public accounting as an auditor for five years, Brad realized what he really enjoyed was recruiting, networking events, business development and the time he spent with CSB during on-campus recruiting activities.  Brad has been on the Triangle Steering Committee since its inception in 2008.

Jensen Caudle '05 is a graduate of the Cameron School of Business.  He is currently the Assistant Vice President and  Commercial Banker at North Carolina Bank and Trust in Charlotte and volunteers on the Town of Harrisburg Parks & Recreation Advisory Board.  He has served on the Charlotte Steering Committee since it’s inception in 2010. Find out more about Jensen from a past blog post.

Jenna Curry '08

Jenna Curry '08 received her  degree in Communication Studies and has remained in Wilmington. She is a partner at Little Wing Marketing, an Internet Marketing firm. In 2009, Jenna founded Port City Young Professionals, a networking group for professionals in their 20s and 30s. She has been a mentor to Communication Studies students in the Project Protege program, supervised interns and been a guest speaker for the Communication Studies Alumni Panel and Capstone classes.

Virginia Teachey '09 has been associated with UNCW since 1987 where she volunteered, attended numerous trainings, workshops, and conferences. She has served as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, director, and mentor. Virginia also serves as a member of the NHC Library Board and as Vice President of the Master Gardener Association while mentoring groups of aspiring Master Gardeners and teaching 4-H students.

UNCW Alumni may leave the beach, but look forward to coming back

The UNCW connection doesn’t stop after graduation, from Wilmington College to our newest graduates; UNCW values all of our alumni. Jessica Costana ‘09 is a recent graduate exploring the dynamic professional world. She claims that she “instantly knew [UNCW] was a school where [she] could both succeed and have fun.” With a communication studies degree, Jessica graduated with skills that have helped her advance both in her personal and professional life. “I walked away from UNCW as a strong communicator with an exuberant amount of enthusiasm and tenacity,” says Jessica.

Like many young graduates, Jessica’s toughest challenge after leaving UNCW was finding a job. She decided to move to New York and look for a good career fit in Public Relations or Marketing. “After many conversations with my friends and mentors I decided to take advantage of an opportunity I had in the finance industry,” says Jessica. Without this advice Jessica would not have seen what a wonderful opportunity this position was and how it’s made an impact in her career.

Jessica will be returning to Wilmington soon for the Young Alumni Reunion on Saturday, October 16, during Family & Alumni Weekend. “When I graduated in 2009 the campus was undergoing a great deal of construction such as, the new nursing building, a parking deck and more campus apartments. I am excited to see the progression of these projects as well as any other new additions on campus,” says Jessica. Although there are many things Jessica misses about UNCW, she has been fortunate to stay connected to friends and professors, and looks forward to seeing them during the reunion weekend.