ECU Alumni Association names 2019 Robert H. Wright Alumni Leadership Award recipients
The East Carolina University Alumni Association named its five student recipients of the Robert H. Wright Alumni Leadership Award on Tuesday. The award recognizes students’ academic achievement as well as commitment to leadership and integrity. The students will be honored at ECU’s spring commencement ceremony on May 3.
The Robert H. Wright Alumni Leadership Award is the most prestigious award presented by the ECU Alumni Association, given to students who live up to Robert H. Wright’s legacy of using leadership to influence positive change, just as Wright did as the first president of East Carolina Teachers College.
“It is an honor for the ECU Alumni Association to recognize these amazing students as the 2019 Robert H. Wright Award recipients. They truly represent Pirate Nation through their academic accomplishments, dedication to serving others, and outstanding leadership. We cannot wait to see their impact on the world,” said Mark Notestine, interim associate vice chancellor for alumni relations.
The 2019 recipients are as follows:
Austin James Allen of Asheboro is a biochemistry major, Honors College student and member of the men’s tennis team. During his time at ECU, Allen has served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee working to improve awareness of mental health issues among student-athletes. He also interned with the East Carolina Heart Institute, where he observed cardiac, thoracic and vascular surgeons in both the clinic and operating room, and studied abroad in Spain in the summer of 2018. After graduation, Allen plans to attend medical school. He has already been accepted to multiple schools, including ECU’s Brody School of Medicine.
William Michael Taylor of Garner is a biochemistry and chemistry major and Honors College student. Taylor is a resident advisor and currently oversees the Biology Living Learning Community at ECU. He also worked as a research assistant in the chemistry department and will be presenting work at two upcoming research conferences. After graduation, Taylor will attend the Brody School of Medicine as part of the class of 2023. He’s interested in studying family medicine and working in eastern North Carolina helping underserved populations.
Michael Tyrone Denning Jr. of Garner is a public health studies major interested in medicine and science. One of Denning’s formative experiences at ECU was attending a National Academy of Medicine workshop titled “An American Crisis: The Growing Absence of Black Men in Medicine and Science” in Washington, D.C. He has also traveled abroad on three occasions, to England, the Dominican Republic and Northern Ireland. Denning plans to get a master’s degree in public health and then attend the Brody School of Medicine.
Meghan Lower of Greenville is an EC Scholar majoring in science education and chemistry. She has worked as a research assistant in the chemistry department under Dr. Joi Walker studying the implementation of argumentation-based chemistry laboratory curriculum at ECU. Lower has also served as a mentor with the Pitt Pirates Robotics program and participated in numerous community service opportunities through the EC Scholars program. After graduation, Lower plans to earn her master’s degree in science education at ECU. Eventually, she’d like to earn her doctorate and work with chemistry teachers at the college level.
Ashley Weingartz of Greenville is a sports studies major and catcher for the ECU softball team. At ECU, Weingartz developed a student-athlete pen pal program with Wahl-Coates Elementary School, studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, and interned with Little League International assisting in preparations for the 2017 Little League World Series. Weingartz will attend the University of South Carolina to earn her Master of Science in sport and entertainment management, while also working as a graduate assistant with the USC softball team. After that, she plans to pursue coaching or collegiate athletics administration.
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