Dominion Awards HU J-School Grant to Increase Energy Awareness

Dominion Awards HU J-School Grant to Increase Energy Awareness Professor Joy McDonald and Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communication Interim Dean Rosalynne Whitaker-Heck, grant co-principal investigators, accept the award. Hampton University’s Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications has been awarded a $40,000 grant from the Dominion Foundation to implement student-produced multimedia energy-related projects. The grant funding will support the creation of student-produced journalism and public relations projects aimed towards increasing the public’s energy awareness. Topics will include natural resource exploration, energy transportation and storage, power generation and energy delivery, renewable power projects and energy conservation efforts in the Hampton Roads region. The information campaign will be disseminated via web-based multimedia platforms. The grant will also support a series of training workshops for students and faculty and software upgrades. “Through this project, our students will be able to produce relevant content for people to make informed decisions about energy use and consumption,” said Rosalynne Whitaker-Heck, interim dean of the Scripps Howard School and co-principal investigator for the grant. Assistant Professor and internship coordinator Joy McDonald will also serve as co-principal investigator. The award is one of five to be presented to area universities Oct. 20 at a luncheon hosted by the foundation at The Founders Inn in Virginia Beach, Va. Old Dominion University, Norfolk State University, Thomas Nelson Community College and Tidewater Community College also received grants ranging from $10,000 to $40,000. The grants total $150,000 and will support various programs in business, skilled craft, engineering, environmental and technical studies, and for student-led conservation programs. The Dominion Foundation is the charitable arm of Dominion Virginia Power. "This new program was created specifically for higher education," said Bill Hall, vice president for corporate communications and community affairs with Dominion Virginia Power and president of the Dominion Foundation. "We see the importance in funding and cultivating the innovative studies that are happening at our colleges and universities and their potential for the future." - Alison L. Phillips

HU Announces Musical Arts Society Season

HU Announces Musical Arts Society Season

Leon Bates Handel's Messiah Project TRIO Derrick Gardner The Hampton University Musical Arts Society has announced its 2010-2011 season featuring internationally renowned musicians Leon Bates, PROJECT Trio, and Derrick Gardner and the Jazz Prophets. All performances will be held in HU’s Ogden Hall, widely known for being one of the premier acoustical settings on the East Coast. “The Musical Arts Society continues its legacy of presenting exceptional artists and cultural events for the campus and the Hampton Roads region. This year is sure to be a memorable one,” said Dr. Shelia Maye, chair of the Musical Arts Society and the HU Department of Music. Leon Bates, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. Admission: $30; As one of America’s leading pianists, Leon Bates has earned a place on the international concert circuit, performing with the New York Pops, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony. And as a disciplined body builder, he cannot only play the piano, he can lift one! HU Choirs & Orchestra present Handel's “Messiah, ” Dec. 5 at 4 p.m. Admission is complimentary, donations are appreciated. Celebrate the season with HU’s Department of Music as the University Choirs and Orchestra present George Frederic Handel’s timeless holiday classic. PROJECT Trio, Feb. 20, 2011 at 4 p.m. Admission: $20; Hailing from Brooklyn, N.Y., the three-man ensemble known as PROJECT Trio offers a musical experience defining a new level of entertainment for all ages. From hip-hop to chamber music, PROJECT Trio is sure to give a high-energy musical experience not to be missed. Derrick Gardner & the Jazz Prophets, April 8, 2011 at 8 p.m. Admission: $20; Inspired by the hard-blowing funky bop bands of the 1960s, jazz trumpeter Derrick Gardner returns to his alma mater for a performance with his band, The Jazz Prophets. Gardner has traveled the world playing top-flight jazz with the likes of the Count Basie Orchestra, Frank Foster’s Loud Minority Band, and Harry Connick Jr.’s Big Band. For more information, visit mas.hamptonu.edu. Tickets are available online throughTicketmaster.com or call the HU Convocation Center box office at (757) 728-6800, Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. -Alison L. Phillips

Students Give Back through Entrepreneurship

While most students attended last week’s Career Fair in the hope of gaining employment, other students were busy working on their own businesses. Through hard-work, passion, research, legal paperwork, financial investments and plenty of patience, a few Hampton University students have already spun their dreams of entrepreneurship into realities.

For Kevin Matthews, owner and CEO of BuildingBread, LLC (a company that educates and informs on financial literacy), it was no easy task.

“I’ve been researching for years,” said Matthews, a junior economics major from Tulsa, Okla. “I’ve created my own library of books, called friends for help, got legal and professional advice from professors and took a chance.”

Matthews was drawn to start his business after learning the value of money from his father. As a child, he saved enough of his weekly allowance to buy video games. As a teenager, he saved enough to buy his first car…and then his second…and then his third- which he fixed up and sold at auctions. By the time he was 18, he bought his first house. With his personal experience, an internship at ING Investment Management last summer and personal research, Matthews is trying to give back by sharing his knowledge of financial literacy with others.

Also with dreams of giving back, sophomore business major Megan Schmidt (better known as ‘Cupcake Meg’) is the creator of the Brooklyn Capital for the Children Foundation. Schmidt, who is preparing to celebrate the one-year anniversary of selling cupcakes at Hampton on October 11, says that the cupcakes are the least of her story.

“All I wanted to do was raise money for my foundation so that I could provide for the communities that I am trying to help,” said Schmidt. “Selling cupcakes and t-shirts is how I’m feeding my foundation.”

The communities Schmidt has set her sights on are no easy fix. The first, in Belize City, Belize, is a community ravaged with youth violence. Schmidt is hoping to help by giving assistance to the Dorothy Menzie’s Childcare Home for orphans. Schmidt also visited Togo, West Africa; where, after seeing the state of the country’s youth education programs, she was inspired to build a school. Schmidt’s limitless dreams and ability to network has allowed her to shake hands with people such as the CEO of Pepsi, Pharrell, Jeremih and Ecko Red fashion designer Lee Wilke. With the help of her mother, her “street team” and numerous supporters, Schmidt is inspiring many by trying to “make the world sweeter,” one cupcake and one community at a time.

Junior Sydnee Mack, a public relations major from Las Vegas, began her non-profit business (Tee it Up Golf), in partnership with her older sister. Mack, a member of the University’s golf team and a nationally-ranked player decided to begin the organization to give back to a community to which golf is not an easily-accessible sport.

“The goal of my organization is to expose underprivileged children and teenagers to the sport and make them comfortable on the course,” Mack said. “Golf is one of the languages of business and my business helps kids understand the game and also encourages them academically and socially.”

With such a noble venture, it is not surprising that Mack was presented with the Special Benefactor Award, last year. The award is a grant given to a student to provide an international experience. With the help of Professor Erica Woods-Warrior, Mack won the award and has been given the chance to continue her business abroad. Mack has chosen to open her business in Germany; the site will launch in May 2011.

These young entrepreneurs are only a few of the many around Hampton’s campus, but a striking similarity exists in their giving spirits. As for advice to others who would like to start their own ventures, they offer these words of wisdom:

1. Know your market.
2. Become an expert in your field.
3. Use your resources (professors on campus have a wealth of knowledge).
4. Be patient.
5. Know what you can realistically accomplish.
6. Be professional; as young as we all are, no one will take us seriously if we do not take ourselves seriously.
7. Realize how and where you’ll get your money and be prepared to spend just as much.
8. Have a thorough plan.
9. Be brave.

- Jessica Moore