PIRATE SOLES

Students graduate in comfort, style

Despite temperatures hovering in the 30s, East Carolina University student Christine Fay knew she only had to get from the car to Minges Coliseum in her four-inch, multicolored heels for commencement.

The walk was worth it, said Fay, who received a bachelor’s degree in university studies.

“Beauty is pain sometimes,” she joked. “I can’t feel my toes right now.”

Fay bought the shoes last year for a Phi Mu sorority formal and only wore them once. “They’re really colorful and I’m a colorful and happy person. They put you in a good mood,” said Fay, a Hickory native, who will be applying to graduate school.

ECU graduate Jayden Alicea from Cary waited three years to wear her Christian Louboutin heels, a gift from her boyfriend. The bright yellow pumps feature the designer’s signature red leather sole.

“I love shoes,” said Alicea, who owns about 150 pairs of shoes. “These bright yellow shoes show I’m a bright, fun-loving person.”

For new nursing graduate Connor Holcomb, his brown Ariat boots were the perfect choice as he waited in a hallway to march inside for the commencement ceremony. “I pretty much wear them every day,” Holcomb said. “They’re my daily wear, and it’s cold outside.”

A Concord native, Holcomb is in the Army National Guard and will be moving to Durham to work in the surgical trauma ICU at Duke University Health System while pursuing commission as an Army nurse. He said he has two or three pairs of Ariats and nine or 10 pairs of combat boots. But sneakers are his top choice when he’s working in the hospital.

ECU long jumper Allen Bordley of Virginia Beach, Virginia, traded his track shoes for a pair of new Delli Aldo dress shoes for graduation.

“I like that brown with the red tint and the square toe, they have nice shoelaces too,” Bordley said. “It’s a nice shoe – not too professional but not too general.”

He’s actually had the shoes in his closet since Sept. 5, when he started a countdown clock to graduation. “It’s been a long road,” said Bordley, who played football at Old Dominion before transferring to ECU for track. “I’ve balanced being an athlete with being a student.”

A highlight was setting a personal record on his last jump as a Pirate at regionals. With a bachelor’s degree in health fitness, he plans to stay in Greenville and possibly pursue a master’s degree while serving as a volunteer assistant coach with ECU track and field.

Graduate Hope Loman of Salisbury chose black combat boots for her walk across the stage to get her master’s in library science degree, which she earned online. It was her first time on campus.

“I basically chose these for comfort, and a little bit of style. They’re kind of tough, and it’s very cold outside,” said Loman, who is the young adult librarian at Rowan Public Library. At 5-foot-2, she also liked that they added a little height, she said, plus it was something she could walk in easily. “I’ve had them about three years,” she said. “They’re broken in.”

One thing she learned as an online student was to manage her time wisely. Her position at the library went from part-time to full-time while she was earning her master’s degree. “It’s been a great experience,” Loman said.