Jamie Gerdts
Jameson “Jamie” Gerdts grew up in Raleigh, a place he described as cozy yet growing.
“You can see new developments at the same time as 100-year-old homes converted into restaurants,” he said.
Gerdts got that cozy and growing feeling at East Carolina University, too.
“I chose ECU in large part due to the culture and community of the school,” he said. “I (visited) ECU after looking at a number of other schools, and the first thing that I noticed was that I was treated as a human with a name rather than just another applicant. The community of the school managed to make ECU seem small in comparison to other schools with a comparable size in the student body population.”
Gerdts is among 20 freshmen coming to ECU this fall as an EC Scholar, the most prestigious undergraduate award program offered at the university. The four-year merit scholarship recognizes outstanding academic performance, commitment to community engagement and strong leadership skills. Recipients receive an Honors College scholarship and a stipend for study abroad for a total value of nearly $64,000.
Gerdts, the son of LaRee Johnson and James Gerdts, has many interests.
“I like to read and run — I love long distance trail running in early to middle spring or fall — play ultimate Frisbee, and play music,” he said. “I like to play jazz, pop, rock, funk or sometimes compose music.”
Those interests have led him to pursue two degrees at ECU, one in engineering with a concentration in either mechanical or biomedical engineering and one in music.
“Engineering is about having a problem and trying to find a solution that works well, efficiently and practically,” Gerdts said. “I find the process of trying to solve this fascinating.”
Musically, Gerdts plays guitar, piano, drums, bass, saxophone and — to a limited degree —ukulele.
“Music is about conveying emotion; I find myself often using it as an alternative means of communication to speaking,” he said. “It is also a great bonding experience with other people, especially other musicians. ECU’s music school is exceptional, and I found myself drawn to hoping to play here. The people in the school were not just professional and nice, but also very competent.”
Long term, he’s interested in becoming a lawyer specializing in intellectual property law.
“With an engineering background I would have an easier time wrapping my mind around the increasing prevalence of modern technology in almost every field and hopefully be able to better protect the works of new inventors and problem solvers,” he said. “Such people are often taken advantage of by larger corporations or entities with little to no accountability, a problem I hope to be able to help remedy.”
Before that, he hopes to become involved in mock trial teams and pre-law societies at ECU and looks forward to a study abroad trip to Germany or the German-speaking areas of Switzerland.
“I find the culture of Germany intricate and amazing,” he said.
Out of school, Gerdts volunteers with a Raleigh soup kitchen and with a special needs baseball league while also playing in the Edenton Street United Methodist Church youth worship band. He was co-founder and vice president of the Cardinal Gibbons High School Media Club.
He doesn’t take the honor of being an EC Scholar lightly.
“It’s being a part of a community and working to contribute to it and trying to make it better,” he said.
“Engineering is about having a problem and trying to find a solution that works well, efficiently and practically. I find the process of trying to solve this fascinating.”
High School: Cardinal Gibbons High School
Intended majors: Engineering and Music
Hometown: Raleigh