HU Professors Host Book Signing Events

Author Wayne Dawkins

Wayne Dawkins - “City Son: Andrew W. Cooper’s Impact on Modern-Day Brooklyn”
Wayne Dawkins, assistant professor of Journalism at the Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications, has authored the first biography of an unforgettable African-American journalist and activist, Andrew W. Cooper. The biography, titled “City Son: Andrew W. Cooper’s Impact on Modern-Day Brooklyn,” possesses sound facts and tantalizing tid-bits. University Press of Mississippi published City Son on July 1.

A dialogue with Dawkins and book signing will take place in the William R. and Norma B. Harvey Library Atrium Meeting Room, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m.

“City Son: Andrew W. Cooper’s Impact on Modern-Day Brooklyn” is now available at amazon.com.

Shonda Buchanan participating in a VA Beach Pow Wow, 2010.

Shonda Buchanan - “Who’s Afraid of Black Indians?”
Hampton University Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing Shonda Buchanan has authored an award worthy book titled, “Who’s Afraid of Black Indians?” The book is a beautiful collection of poetry that peeks into one American family's cultural window.

A book release party will be held from 3-5 p.m. on Sept. 23. Taking place in The Hampton University Museum’s Native American Gallery, the gathering will feature poetry reading and traditional Native American songs accompanied by Eastern Sky Intertribal drumming.

For more information about “Who’s Afraid of Black Indians?”  and the author or to purchase the book please visit www.shondabuchanan.com.

Former Miss HU adds Miss National Sweetheart crown to her winnings

Desiree Williams is crowned Miss National Sweetheart 2012

Former Miss HU adds Miss National Sweetheart crown to her winnings

Hampton University Graduate Student and Miss Virginia First Runner Up Desiree Williams was crowned Miss National Sweetheart 2012 on Sept. 2. Forty ladies competed in the pageant, which consisted of first runner-ups from the Miss America state pageants.

Williams has a glowing track record in pageantry.

She was Miss Hampton University 2010-2011 and was crowned Miss Peninsula in November of last year. Also in 2011, Williams was featured in Ebony magazine as one of 10 Historically Black College or University (HBCU) Campus Queens. In June, she was first runner up in the Miss Virginia pageant. She will hold the National Sweetheart title for a year.

“My (National Sweetheart) competitors were, without a doubt, among the most talented women in the nation,” Williams said. “Any one of those girls could have been one point or one vote away from representing their state at the Miss America Pageant in January, so I was completely shocked and honored to have won.”

The future holds more opportunities for Williams, academically and socially.

At HU, Williams is in the second year of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program. She earned her undergraduate degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation from HU in 2011.

And there’s more pageantry, too.

“I will be competing in a Miss Virginia local pageant either late this year or early next year in order to qualify for the Miss Virginia Pageant next June,” Williams said. “Of course my goal at that pageant is to be successful enough to represent Virginia at the Miss America Pageant.”

Leha Byrd 

33rd annual Hampton Ladies Luncheon

The 33^rd annual Hampton Ladies Luncheon was held at the Gaylord National Harbor in National Harbor, Md. Aug. 4. Nearly 200 Hampton University alumna, whose attendance ranged from the classes of 1945 to 2004, were present at the affair. The event was begun by ladies from the class of 1954, and the first event was in 1979. Each year’s luncheon is in a different location. Next year’s luncheon is Aug. 3, 2013 in Jacksonville, Fla. 

Ladies of the Hampton Ladies Luncheon 

HU Dean Jewel Long '69 (center) dines with others at the Hampton Ladies Luncheon

Summer Away From the Sea

Summer Away From the Sea

Students Juggle Part-time Jobs for Extra Cash

This summer Hamptonians are completing internships and jobs throughout the country and abroad. Whether they are in Hampton,Va. or as far as China, they are applying the valuable lessons they’ve learned at their Home by the Sea. This series of blogs will feature undergraduate and graduate students, who are doing something noteworthy this summer.

 

Lumpkin’s New Endeavors

Tiffany Lumpkin has her hands full this summer as she works two part-time jobs as a receptionist and a freelance/contracted independent makeup artist. She is also taking summer classes at Hampton University. Lumpkin is a senior, biology major from Suffolk,Va., who enjoys all of her time spent at HU.

Lumpkin spends most of her time completing assignments for class and studying for the GRE and LSAT. She is preparing for graduate school, while balancing personal and professional tasks.

When she isn’t working, Lumpkin enjoys hanging out with friends.”We form study groups on the weekends and then party later that night. It helps give us something to look forward to each weekend and provides discipline at the same time.”

Lumpkin finds that this summer is significantly different than last. “I had a lot of fun last summer. I traveled with my family oversees and enjoyed a leisure lifestyle. This summer is different, I am on the grind. Focusing on my short term and long term goals is my number one priority,” said Lumpkin.

Doing makeup has been the highlight of Lumpkin’s summer. “I am in the process of building my clientele as a professional MAC cosmetics makeup artist and I am doing a lot of weddings and special occasions on the weekends. They say you should do what you love and the way you know you love it is that you would do it for free. It’s just that rewarding,” said Lumpkin.

Stevens Spends Summer at Captain Ds

Rising Junior, Da’Reinn Stevens is ready to start the fall semester at Hampton University, after spending her summer working at Captain Ds Seafood Kitchen.

Stevens turned down numerous unpaid internships, and took advantage of the opportunity to make money before returning to HU. Her responsibilities at the restaurant include serving food and being a cashier. Working at Captain Ds has motivated her to work hard to ensure that she will not have to return after college. “I realized how fortunate I am to be able to leave and get a quality education,” said Stevens.

This summer was fun for Stevens but last summer she had more friends to hang out with. Many of her friends have moved elsewhere. During the time she is not at work she is hanging with the friends that haven’t left, and looking up other opportunities to further her experiences. She also dedicates some of her free time to volunteering. By the end of the summer she hopes to take a trip to Bermuda to visit her family.


-Jalisa Stanislaus is a print journalism major who is interning at the office of University Relations at Hampton University this summer.



VDOT Commissioner says young people are, ‘future of transportation.’

Program participants stand with Program Director Dr. Sonja Pollard- Mitchell and Assistant Director Shontae Taylor .

Program participants explain their VDOT posters at the closing luncheon. 

Program Director Dr. Sonja Pollard-Mitchell stands with VDOT officials at the program's closing luncheon.

VDOT Commissioner says young people are, ‘future of transportation.’

The Hampton University National Summer Transportation Institute (NSTI) Summer Program ended July 20 with a heartfelt sentiment from Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner (VDOT) Gregory Whirley.

“You represent the future of transportation,” said Whirley, to the 23 high schoolers who participated in the six-week program on HU’s campus. “You came up as a team because you worked together. That’s what’s going to make you successful, working with other people.” 

At the program’s closing luncheon, where Whirley was the guest speaker, students presented group work that consisted of a handcrafted symbol of VDOT and what the organization represents. As a whole, the free program exposes students to careers within the transportation industry, including science, engineering and construction. 

Program Director Dr. Sonja Pollard-Mitchell, also a marketing professor at HU, said exposing students to the variety the transportation industry provides was a promise she made to participants’ parents, and one she kept.  

“I told you at the beginning of this program that I would expose your children many opportunities,” she said.

Students visited Washington, D.C., Kitty Hawk, N.C., and Jamestown to learn of their transportation hubs, how those industries are maintained, and how they thrive.

“Our goal is that students are challenged to think outside of whatever box they’ve placed the transportation industry,” Mitchell said. “Many of them may have never considered the field of transportation as part of their work future, but now, they know it’s an option.” 

Though several students playfully admitted not being interested in the program initially, student testimonials relayed they were pleased with the program's academic and social offerings. 

“I enjoyed making the connections and building relationships with my peers and instructors,” said 16-year old Skyler Greene. “ I learned that VDOT has a variety of jobs not just (related to) the roads, but business, science and photography.” 

Leha Byrd 

Summer Away from the Sea

Summer Away from the Sea

Jaron Scott Explores India

This summer Hamptonians are completing internships and jobs throughout the country and abroad. Whether they are in Hampton,Va. or as far as China, they are applying the valuable lessons they’ve learned at their Home by the Sea. This series of blogs will feature undergraduate and graduate students, who are doing something noteworthy this summer.

Jaron Scott has gained a new outlook on the world from his experience studying abroad in India. Scott is a senior, political science major from Hampton, Va. who has spent part of his summer studying the Hindi language and micro-finance through a program with the Mid-Atlantic Consortium-Center for Academic Excellence (MACCAE).

Being in India was a very unique experience for Scott. He gained a lot of insight and a new sense of understanding of other cultures.

“Micro-finance is the practice of loaning small amounts of money to poor people so that they may start their own home business or expand their current business. This is used to help alleviate the widespread poverty that plagues India.” This helps underprivileged people generate their own wealth.

“I learned that the best way to help people is to empower them by giving them the means to help themselves,” said Scott.

Scott spent most of his free time in the markets talking to people and in the gym working out. “While working out I had the opportunity to talk to the 25 year old owner of the gym and hear about how he was able to build his fortune by buying and selling houses and other property.”

Adjusting to the new culture was not difficult for Scott. The time difference and the food were the hardest things to get used to. Scott found himself jet lagged for a couple days due to the nine hour difference in time. He loved the food but found that Indians put spices in everything. “One time I ordered a drink at an Indian restaurant that was full of spices,” said Scott.

Scott observed that many Indians are very conservative when it comes to water and electricity. “Since these things are in short supply and very expensive to obtain people generally do not waste them.” People take baths out of buckets to conserve water.

Although Scott took classes at HU that gave him a solid understanding of Hindi, the language barrier was still Scott’s biggest obstacle. “It was difficult to understand and talk to the people.” As the program progressed, Scott learned more Hindi, and was eventually able to communicate with the natives.

“I decided to study abroad because I really wanted to experience a culture different from American culture. I figured the best way to do this was to travel to another country and learn the language,” said Scott.

-Jalisa Stanislaus is a print journalism major who is interning at the office of University Relations at Hampton University this summer.

Hampton University's Business of Engineering Exposes Youth to Energy Alternatives

Hampton University's Business of Engineering Exposes Youth to Energy Alternatives

This summer the School of Engineering and Technology and the School of Business hosted the Business of Engineering Summer Program. The program, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, allows rising high school freshman to learn about the problem solving and business side of the transportation industry.

The two-week program allowed students to investigate different energy sources and how each can be used in today’s world. For their final presentations students researched multiple different energy sources that could be used to power the HU campus including wind, geothermal, hydroelectricity, lightening, and solar power. 

In class students used home energy simulators, solar panels, and wind energy and electricity distribution simulators to analyze real-world situations. 

The Business of Engineering took learning beyond the classroom and traveled to Nauticus, Batelle, Jefferson Labs and Busch Gardens. The program closed on June 28, with a reception that featured presentations from students and awards.