1970s
Earl Vaughan Jr. ’76 retired as a correspondent for CityView Today in Fayetteville, NC. He left on a high note earning first place in the sports columns category for magazine and niche publications in the annual North Carolina Press Association contest.
Braxton Melvin ’77 has served as president and CEO of The Melvin Group, LLC since January 2011. The international project controls, project and construction management services consulting company is based in Miami, Florida.
1980s
Deborrah Newton ’83 is celebrating her 25th year as an attorney.
Greg Marinich ’84, owner of Nothing Bundt Cakes in Wilmington, opened a second bakery in Leland, NC. He was a member of the men’s soccer team and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army after graduation. He is currently a UNCW women’s soccer assistant coach.
Len McBride ’84 published his first novel, America’s Harvest, set in eastern NC and based on his 35-year career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Ben Thigpen ’86 retired as superintendent of Jones County Public Schools after 35 years in public education. He is now working at East Carolina University as an adjunct professor in the educational leadership program and part-time with STEM East.
1990s
Scott Ikerd ’95 retired as major over the criminal investigation division with the Wake County Sheriff’s Office on March 1, 2023 with 30 years of service. For the past year, he has been a law enforcement agent with the North Carolina Department of Revenue.
Karen Hicks ’96 ’18 ’20M became nationally certified as a nurse manager and leader and was promoted to assistant nurse manager at Duke Regional Hospital.
Gregory Little ’97 was named president of Midlands Technical College in South Carolina.
Michelle Walsh ’97 was promoted to regional manager at Aspen Dental in Shallotte, NC.
Angie Ward ’98 celebrated 25 years working in human resources at NC State University.
2000s
Gregory King ’00 has two daughters at UNCW—a first-year student and a junior—making it three Seahawks in the family.
Sean Lowery ’00 was promoted to executive oncology account manager and honored with the Circle of Excellence and his fourth President’s Club Award with Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
Jamie Robinson ’02 was appointed by Raleigh City Council to serve a two-year term on the Raleigh Human Relations Commission in August 2023.
Charlotte Floyd ’04 published the first book in a children’s book series. She is both the author and illustrator.
Jesse Wangler ’04 is opening a bottle shop in the Porters Neck area of Wilmington called Brewha.
Jack Robinson ’05 was promoted to vice president of human resources at The Idaho Foodbank.
Lynn Casper ’06 presented at the Public Media Development and Marketing Conference in San Diego.
Luke Davis ’06 was promoted to department manager of environmental services at Terracon
in Jacksonville, Florida.
Jor-El Caraballo ’07 published his second book, Self-Care for Black Men: 100 Ways to Liberate.
Stephanie Hagens ’07 worked on costumes for Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, earning the costume department a 2024 Academy Award nomination.
Jessica Correnti ’08 published her second children’s book, The ABCs of Grief. Her next book in the series is slated to be published in early 2025.
Rachael Daniels ’08 completed her seventh year as education curator at Zoo Idaho in Pocatello and is transitioning to a new career with On Point developing adventure retreats.
2010s
MJ Giammaria ’10, ’14C, ’15M started the podcast MusicDanceChat.
Britney Kelly ’11, ’21M and Kevin Kelly ’12, ’20M welcomed their first baby boy, Sullivan, in April 2024.
Tyler Heffernan ’12 was promoted to vice president of marketing and communications at US Club Soccer.
Dylan Joyce ’12 welcomed his first child and future Seahawk, Jude.
Coline Samat ’12 got a new job at Roche, one of the world’s largest biotech companies, and was honored by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association.
Laurel ’14 and Alec Engel ’22M welcomed a future Seahawk, daughter Skyler, on Nov. 13, 2023.
Carolina Escobar ’14 graduated with a master’s in nursing from Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in 2022 and currently works at Johns Hopkins Hospital as a craniofacial nurse coordinator and pediatric operating room nurse.
Kamaria Delaney ’15 celebrated six years with United Airlines. Since becoming a flight attendant, she has traveled to 33 countries and launched the travel blog Jump and Journey.
Brett Keeler ’15M, ’22M has been working in project management with ICON plc in the Pfizer Pediatric COVID Vaccine program. He serves on the board of the UNCW Seahawk Club and Pender Memorial Hospital and vice chairs the Pender County Board of Adjustments.
William Weeks ’15, ’16M married in 2020, attained a CPA license in 2023 and will welcome a child this year.
Brittany Dixon ’16 was promoted to quality control manager of raw materials at Tolmar, a Colorado-headquartered pharmaceutical company. She is Lean Six Sigma Yellow, Green and Black Belt certified.
Leanne Drayton ’16 and Luke Burns ’13 married in May 2023 in Maryville, Tennessee.
Nancy Smith ’16 was recognized in WILMA Magazine for organizing the ILM Silent Book Club.
Matthew Blake ’17, ’19M moved to Munich, Germany, to continue with accounting firm KPMG.
Jordan Kent ’17 was promoted to manager in technology consulting at EY in Charlotte, NC.
Marisa Hodes ’18 married Jonah Hodes ’18. They met in Galloway Hall.
Kaitlin Bellamy Jefferis ’19 was presented with the 2023 Wilmington Fire Department Community Service Award.
Abby LaFave ’19 completed her MBA and is the social media coordinator for Chick-fil-A, Inc.
Hayley Watson ’19 is engaged to her college sweetheart, also a UNCW alum. She says, “Shoutout
to the Dub for bringing two Seahawks together!”
2020s
Sonia Betts ’20 had her painting Salvador Roldan vs Los Angeles County accepted into the San Francisco DeYoung Museum Open 2023. The exhibit was a juried show, with 883 artworks selected from 7,700 submissions.
Ricki Nelson ’20 was crowned Miss Black North Carolina.
Tina Abraham ’21, ’22M is helping others on their mental health journey at Family Works Psychological in Wilmington, NC.
Cassie Coble ’21, ’23M was promoted to digital marketing manager at Plan A Advertising in Wilmington, NC.
Savannah Courtney ’21 is working at Walt Disney World.
Seanna Jobe ’22M is working for the Wilmington, NC, environmental nonprofit Cape Fear River Watch.
Noah Pilla ’22 moved to the Charlotte area and is a cervical cancer prevention program coordinator.
Carson Wood ’22 is celebrating one year with NCDEQ’s Stewardship Program, managing state-owned conservation sites.
Chloe Bickers ’23 was named Outstanding Young Educator at Voyager Academy Middle School in Durham, where she is a fifth-grade social studies teacher.
Sydney Johnson ’23 launched Mas Magazine to amplify culture and showcase groundbreaking creatives.
Tony Martin ’23M was named program director of the UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics. This role places him at the heart of pioneering research, public education and societal and cultural impacts of psychedelics.
Karen Nolan ’23 is working as an operating room nurse.
Noah Robinson ’23 started a job with the Nashville Predators ice hockey team.
Jordan Bingham ’24M got engaged on Hoggard Lawn immediately following the Graduate School commencement ceremony.
Anna Brauer ’24 is working at Duke University as an RN on the solid organ transplant team.
Josef Hefele ’24 won the 2023-24 CAA Leadership and Sport Excellence Award.
Ashlynn Johnson ’24 was accepted into the Charleston School of Law.
