Charlotte Alumni Chapter's First President Becomes Member of UNCW Board of Visitors

In the fall of 2010, Charlotte area alumni established their first official UNCW Alumni Chapter. The dedicated efforts of Robert Abbotts ’85, played a big role in making this happen. Robert was the chapter's first president, willing and eager to get alumni in the area reconnected with their alma mater. Now he has been appointed as a new member of the UNCW Board of Visitors, serving as an advocate for the university’s mission, accomplishments and goals for the future.

“Staying involved makes me feels as though I never really left,” Robert said. Along with embracing his new volunteer role, Robert remains an active part of the Charlotte Area Alumni Chapter by serving on the Steering Committee. Although he resides in Charlotte, Robert and his family still attend events on campus and feels a sense of community pride for the growth of UNCW.

“In Charlotte traffic, I get a big kick out of when fellow alumni, or current students, react to the UNCW sticker on the rear window of my car. That always makes my day,” he said.

The love Robert has for UNCW began when he visited campus for the first time. “Everything intrigued me; the history of the university, the town of Wilmington, proximity of the coast, everything,” explains Robert.

Robert’s time at UNCW formed the foundation of his career in Public Service. One of his professors, Dr. Earl Sheridan, further enhanced Robert’s lifelong interest in the American political process. He reminisces about Dr. Syed Ahmad stating, “That man was a genius at running a classroom. I not only looked forward to going to his class, I didn’t want it to end – he was that good.”

Upon graduating, Robert began working in the private sector and later in the government sector which he is currently working for. Robert declares he found his “true calling” working with the NC Medicaid Program, assisting the states’ aged and disabled citizens.

Fellow alumni in the Charlotte area can reconnect at the Charlotte Alumni Chapter Fall Dinner, which Robert has witnessed the impact of since starting this event three years ago. He is looking forward to seeing fellow alumni at the event on Thursday, October 18, at the Charlotte City Club.

UNCW Alumni Relations/Katherine Wroblewski, Intern

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 Alumna One of Charlotte's Most Influential Women

Each year since 2009, the Mecklenburg Times names 50 of the most influential women in the Charlotte area. Honorees represent women in business, government, education and the nonprofit fields, and are selected based on professional accomplishments and community involvement. UNCW alumna Shawn King ‘99M, has been a recipient of this award.

Shawn, recently promoted to Sales Vice President at Wastequip in Charlotte, reflects back on her experience through the MBA program at UNCW. “I learned a lot from my classmates on the benefits of having a diversity of viewpoints and skill sets from the team projects we worked on together. The faculty, Dr. Becky Porterfield, Dr. Claude Farrell and Dr. Howard Rockness, always encouraged students to stretch goals and [taught] the benefits of continual learning on the job. “ stated Shawn.

She believes that working in her chosen career prior to and while pursuing her MBA has taught her valuable time management as well as life balance skills. “I encourage people to have a few year’s working experience before pursuing their MBA – it will just mean more to them going through it.” Shawn’s diligence and a referral from Dr. Porterfield and Rick Sears, a member of Cameron’s Executive Advisory Board, earned her a new position at Precision Fabrics in Greensboro, just before graduating. She later moved on to hold two additional director roles at different companies before joining Wastequip in 2009 as the Marketing Vice President.

When Shawn is not traveling for her new position as Sales Vice President or working on local nonprofit projects, she enjoys coming back to Wilmington with her son and spending time on their boat, Blue Magic, on the Bradley Creek Marina.

As evident by the progression of her career and being honored as a woman of influence, Shawn keeps an extensive professional network. “I appreciated the recognition as well as being in the company of other fantastic women here in Charlotte. Many are women I have worked with on local nonprofit projects, have met through the Charlotte Women Executives’ group and others are leaders from whom I learned something new.”

UNCW Alumni Relations/ Kirsten Matz

Study Abroad Opportunity Leads to Life of Travel

When he came to UNCW as a transfer student, Adam Matthews ’04 looked forward to attending a university that fit his academic aspirations as well as fulfill his need for an invigorating sea breeze. What he didn’t expect; however, was that an opportunity to study in Europe would spark a momentous desire for experiential learning. “Every waking moment in a foreign country is a learning experience. I now have an insatiable lust for the unknown,” Adam shares.

While he continued his studies as a business student, Adam focused on technology courses knowing this training would empower him to work strategically and become a multipurpose asset to future employers. This mindset paid off, affording him a position with IBM, also working with Lenovo, during one of the largest U.S. acquisitions by a foreign company. During this time, he developed an interest in the Asia and Pacific marketplace and later traveled to Australia to earn his master’s degree.

Adam at Machu Picchu, Peru

Stamps in Adam’s passport reflect times of adventure, such as Interlaken, Switzerland or Queenstown, New Zealand. Thailand was remarkable due in part to its navigation challenges. When asked about the one he enjoyed most: “My favorite country is always the one I haven’t been to yet. I like to focus on where I am going next.”

Recently Adam returned from South Africa and is back home working with the Bank of America headquarters in Charlotte. He’s looking forward to seeing fellow alumni at the Charlotte Area Alumni Fall Dinner at the City Club on November 3. “You have this connection that makes it easy to engage in conversation. I enjoy reminiscing about the memories I have from Wilmington,” he states.

Meet Jensen Caudle ’05, Vice-Chair of the Charlotte Area Alumni Chapter.

Jensen Caudle ’05 attended UNCW for a few different reasons, one of those being his love of the coast. In middle school, he attended the summer camp Marine Quest at the university because he had a great interest in Marine Biology. Although the professional interest did not remain the same as he grew older, it gave him an early taste of UNCW. After graduating, Jensen now resides with his wife, Mallory Caudle ’05, in his hometown of Harrisburg, NC, located right outside of Charlotte.

The Alumni Association currently has regional chapters in the Cape Fear, Triangle, and Triad areas. Charlotte has over 3,000 alumni, making it the third largest concentration of UNCW graduates in North Carolina. Jensen volunteers for the Charlotte Area Alumni Chapter Steering Committee because he wants to build his network. “UNCW gave me a wonderful education and great memories, but it was the people that made it that way.  This is my way of saying thank you,” explains Jensen. There is an ever-growing knowledge and awareness of UNCW in the Charlotte area. Regardless of what school they attended, people always want to know about UNCW.

The Charlotte Alumni Chapter is hosting their first Alumni Interest Dinner on Thursday, November 11th. Jensen, the vice-president of the Charlotte Area Alumni Chapter Steering Committee, looks forward to meeting alumni who are from the area, as well as catching up with old friends. “I see UNCW stickers on cars all the time, I know there are a lot of Seahawks in this area and I hope to see a great turnout,” explains Jensen. The alumni chapter is a great way to reconnect with past friends and to build a social network. Jensen explains that with the “sheer numbers of alumni in the area, we are bound to be successful. It will be great to reconnect with old classmates and make new friends.”