Five receive Robert H. Wright Leadership Awards

Five graduating seniors have received the Robert H. Wright Leadership Award for excellence in service, leadership and academic achievements at East Carolina University.

Thekra Hindi of Charlotte, Evan Martschenko of Cary, Elliot Paul of Greenville, and Naimi Pothiwala and Shaelyn Raleigh, both of Raleigh, will be recognized at the May 6 commencement ceremony in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Robert H. Wright was the first president of East Carolina Teachers College, and the award honors his legacy of using leadership to influence positive change.

“The Robert H. Wright Leadership Award, presented by the ECU Alumni Association, is the most prestigious student award a Pirate can receive. This year’s five award recipients represent the best of Pirate Nation through their academic achievements, service and leadership,” said Scott Francis, associate vice chancellor for alumni relations. “They truly uphold the legacy of our university’s first president, leading the way for others with integrity and determination, just as Robert Wright did when he led East Carolina Teachers College.”

2022 Wright Award Winners

Thekra Hindi

Thekra Hindi (Contributed photo)

Hindi is earning degrees in English, biochemistry, chemistry and mathematics with minors in science and natural composite science — all in the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, where she was an ECU Excels and Chancellor’s List student. She is a Beacon Scholar and has received numerous departmental scholarships and a 2021 Undergraduate Research Creativity Award. She is a teaching assistant in the chemistry department and a tutor in the Pirate Academic Success Center, where she is a certified College Reading/Learning Association tutor. Last year, Hindi participated in the chemistry Research Experiences for Undergraduates program and presented her research at the Southeastern Regional American Chemical Society annual meeting. Hindi has volunteered at Vidant Health since moving to Greenville in 2019 and plans to attend medical school after graduation.

Evan Martschenko

Evan Martschenko (Contributed photo)

Martschenko is majoring in music with a concentration in theory-composition and emphasis in theory. In the School of Music, he is head tutor in the music theory tutoring lab, which assists undergraduate and graduate music and non-music majors. An Honors College student, Martschenko helps coordinate the annual East Carolina Piano Festival, which brings international performers and young pianists to campus. He is bass section leader in the ECU Chamber Singers. In the community, Martschenko teaches piano to students aged 5 to 85. He received ECU’s Theodor Presser Foundation Scholarship and the highly competitive Spirit Square Center for Arts and Education Scholarship from the Foundation for the Carolinas for his leadership, skill and dedication to an arts-based career. Following graduation, Martschenko plans to earn his master’s and doctoral degrees in music theory.

Elliot Paul

Elliot Paul (Contributed photo)

Paul is majoring in engineering with a concentration in biomedical engineering. He was named a 2021 Goldwater Scholar, the most prestigious national undergraduate scholarship in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering. In the College of Engineering and Technology, Paul has completed extensive undergraduate research on bone and joint mechanobiology with Dr. Ali Vahdati. He also participated in the Biomedical Engineering in Simulations, Imaging and Modeling Research Experiences for Undergraduates. An Honors College student and EC Scholar, Paul is president of the ECU chapter of the Biomedical Engineering Society. He also studied abroad for a semester in Bern, Switzerland. He is considering pursuing a doctoral degree in biomedical engineering or working as an engineer in the medical device industry following graduation.

Naimi Pothiwala

Naimi Pothiwala (Contributed photo)

Pothiwala is majoring in public health with a concentration in pre-health and a minor in Hispanic studies. In 2020, Pothiwala served as a United Nations volunteer, leading the development of a COVID-19 telehealth initiative for patients in rural Cameroon and directing a global team of more than 40 health care providers. She is an AHEC Scholar and Youth Health Service Corps coordinator at Eastern AHEC, teaching underrepresented high school students about health equity and professions. An Honors College student and EC Scholar, Pothiwala worked this spring as a full-time clinical intern with a trauma surgeon in Madrid, Spain, where she completed an independent study about cultural health beliefs in Spain. Following graduation, she plans to pursue a career in medicine and health education with interests in preventive medicine and rheumatology.

Shaelyn Raleigh

Shaelyn Raleigh (Contributed photo)

Raleigh is majoring in exercise physiology with a minor in nutrition. While at ECU, she was one of six students in the 17-campus UNC System chosen as an intern for the Marian Drane Graham Scholars program, studying the accessibility of merit scholarship programs for low-income and rural students. She served over 900 hours with STEM-Corps East, an AmeriCorps program, and was a state LeaderCorps Council representative. An Honors College student and EC Scholar, Raleigh chaired the EC Scholars Roundtable. Through EC Scholars, she helped organize a Toys for Joy fundraiser to buy holiday gifts for students in the ECU Community School. After graduation, Raleigh will either accept a Teach For America position in Nashville, Tennessee, or pursue a master’s in public administration with a concentration in education policy.