Student: Dan Hemme
Dan Hemme is a first-year graduate student in public administration with an emphasis in management at East Carolina University. He is also working toward his graduate certificate in development and environmental planning.
A Florida native, he graduated from the University of Florida in 2011, where he majored in sociology with a minor in Spanish and international development and humanitarian assistance. He then earned a degree in law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2015.
“At the end of that program, I knew I wanted to go into local government work,” he said. “I wanted to have an active role in shaping a community and helping it grow.”
While pursuing his passion in local government work, the opportunity to attend ECU developed.
“A core part of its mission is to serve eastern North Carolina so I thought it was a really wonderful opportunity,” he said.
Hemme was a principal for the Green Fund Campaign at ECU, which led to his involvement in the sustainability master plan development team, where he’s part of the climate change mitigation group.
He’s the project lead for the Farmville Greenway Initiative, a collaboration between ECU’s urban and regional planning program, the Department of Political Science and the Town of Farmville.
He is also the operations manager for LimeBike, a bicycle sharing company that allows people to have a sustainable mode of transportation across cities and college campuses. He is the primary point of contact for the university for LimeBike’s operations.
Hemme is a volunteer and serves on the executive board for Love A Sea Turtle, an environmental conservation and youth leadership development group that’s based in Pitt County. Within LAST, he founded cycLAST where the focus shifts to environmental education and youth leadership development using bicycles.
“We take kids out on bike rides, have repair clinics, teach kids more about biking and promote the healthy activity that comes with it,” he said.
His passion for bicycles stemmed from his childhood. He’s been riding a bike since he was 5 years old and has been an active role model in the bicycle and pedestrian community for about a decade.
Growing up, his hometown of Dunedin didn’t have the best downtown area for bicycles and pedestrians, but has since become one of the most walkable towns in Florida.
“I really view transportation, community and economic development as all going hand in hand,” he said. “That’s what drives me.”
As a graduate assistant for Joyner Library, he is processing and preparing the accumulated papers of Robert Morgan, an ECU alumnus and state and U.S. senator for who played an influential role in helping ECU attain university status. He served on the Board of Trustees and helped lead efforts with Chancellor Leo Jenkins to establish a medical school at ECU.
“He’s an unbelievably important figure in East Carolina history,” he said. “We’ve been working over the course of the past year to prepare the sum of his career and make an exhibit out of it.”
Hemme is a firm believer in finding motivation and drive for your passions. He said that any job will pay you, but you have to find something to keep you wanting to come back day after day.
“Always take time to reflect on what your goals are and what your passion is,” he said.
What advice do you have for other students?: Be proactive in discovering your passion and what motivates you. Whether it’s through classes, student organizations, internships, extracurriculars, or otherwise, ECU has so much to offer in helping you learn, not only about subjects that interest you, but about your own inner drive. Be sensible about your time management, but within what you’re capable of, don’t hold back in pursuing opportunities.
What is something cool about ECU that you wish you knew during your first year?: It’s still my first year here, so I’ll have to get back to you on that one.
STATISTICS
College: Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences
Major: Masters of Public Administration, area of emphasis in management;
graduate certificate in development and environmental planning
Age: 29
Classification/Year: First-year graduate student
Hometown: Dunedin, Florida
LinkedIn Handle: hemmed
Hobbies/interests: Scuba, bicycling, coffee, baseball, international travel and craft brewing
Clubs and Organizations: Student Planners Action Network
FAVORITES
Favorite hangout: Starbucks at Joyner Library and Blackbeard Coffee Roasters
Favorite place on campus: Walking beneath the stand of trees on the mall outside of Joyner Library
Favorite place to eat: Villa Verde
Favorite class: Public Budgeting and Finance
Professor who influenced you the most: Dr. Casey Fleming and Dr. Misun Hur of the community and regional planning department
Favorite TV show: “Parks & Recreation”
Favorite band/musician: Gary Clark Jr.
Favorite website: NPR or CityLab
MOTIVATIONS
Dream job: City or county manager, parks and recreation director or transportation director for a local government
The one thing you cannot live without: My bike — my 2009 Surly Long Haul Trucker, his name is “The Bus”
Role model: My dad
Your words to live by: Treat everyone with respect.