Helping adults and malnourished children at clinics in Guatemala. Immersed in Spanish during a three-week stay with a host family. Experiencing the patience and gratitude of citizens receiving help in underserved communities. Stephanie Batayiannis and Graycen Faulk, students in East Carolina University’s College of Nursing (CON), shared these experiences with Chancellor Philip Rogers as he stopped at their table while speaking with attendees before East Carolina University’s International Awards Ceremony Monday night. The pair worked in Guatemala over the summer through a CON study abroad trip.
The ninth annual awards ceremony celebrates and recognizes the work of students, staff and faculty who make international opportunities a possibility for ECU students through scholarships, planning, intentional collaboration and research. The ceremony kicked of International Education Week Nov. 17-21. Earlier in the day, students from 85 countries participated in the Parade of Flags through campus as part of the week’s celebrations.
Greta Oliva is the first recipient of the Gemperline Scholarship for International Graduate Students. She is pictured with Chancellor Rogers and Dr. Cindy Anderson.
“This week offers an opportunity to recognize the power of international education and cultural exchange and to celebrate the ways our faculty, staff and students are advancing ECU’s mission through global learning, research, engagement and service,” Rogers said during his opening remarks.
International enrollment has soared at ECU in the past four years, growing 48%. In fall 2025, ECU enrolled the largest number of full-time international students in its history, representing 65 countries. ECU students are also packing up for study abroad experiences across the globe, including at ECU’s campus in Certaldo Alto, Italy. Last year, 1,200 students traveled overseas or participated in international activities.
“Engaging with different cultures and perspectives helps our students build self-awareness, inquisitiveness and problem-solving skills. It challenges them to think globally while being rooted in their own culture, traits that employers value highly in today’s interconnected world,” said Rogers.
During the event, the first Gemperline International Graduate Student Award. The scholarship was established by former ECU Graduate School dean Paul Gemperline and his wife, Peggy. The scholarship supplements funding for international students attending graduate school to help ease the financial burden and in doing so, help ECU attract top students from around the world.
The scholarship was presented to Greta Oliva, a graduate student studying sociology. Presenter Dr. Cindy Anderson said Oliva brings an impressive international perspective to the sociology program. Originally from Milan, Italy, Oliva has an undergraduate degree in African language and cultures specializing in Swahili language and literature She also lived and worked in Africa before coming to ECU. Her research focuses on how single mothers access informal resources and how it affects their health, employment and parent outcomes.
ECU’s Office of Global Affairs awards scholarships each year to assist students with the financial responsibilities of traveling abroad. The 17 recipients of the most prestigious global studies scholarship, the Rivers Foreign Exchange Scholarship, were recognized at the ceremony.
Faculty and staff awards
The faculty and staff International Award recipients were recognized for their efforts in research, use of virtual opportunities to engage students with experiences outside their own cultures and work to ensure international students have a positive experience while at ECU.
Dr. Laura Levi Altstaedter and Jessica Teague received the Award for Achievement in International Teaching. Altstaedter, associate professor of Hispanic studies, was recognized for her leadership in leading creative, high quality research opportunities with an international focus for students and faculty across departments and colleges. She builds digital humanities research opportunities into study abroad programs providing students valuable research experience and recognition.
Chancellor Rogers and Jessica Teague, professor of dance, presented the Overall Outstanding International Student Award to dance performance major Stefany Panayiotou (center).
After years as a professional dancer and dance journalist in Europe Teague is now an assistant professor of dance. She creates opportunities for ECU students to engage in international experiences in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Additionally, she developed a successful cultural exchange with Dance Center Kenya in Nairobi that started as virtual meetings and dance classes between the two groups and blossomed to in-person study abroad experiences.
The Award for Achievement in International Service and Engagement was presented to Dr. Sarah Maness, assistant professor in the Department of Health Education and Promotion. She received the Fulbright Specialist Award and traveled to Ecuador earlier this year to use her expertise in gun violence prevention and emergency preparedness to serve as a visiting consultant at Escuela Superior Politecnica Del Litoral University, her host institution in Guayaquil, Ecuador. She worked with the institution’s Office of Student Well-Being to develop and deliver a series of workshops on psychological preparedness and emergency response during events of mass violence.
Dr. Mamadi Corra and Dr. James Loudon received the Award for Achievement in International Research. Corra, a professor of sociology, has been at ECU since 2003 and serves as the sociology program director at the United States National Science Foundation where he manages and directs funding for sociological research.
Loudon is a professor in anthropology and his work and research on the behavioral ecology of nonhuman primates has involved collaboration and cooperation with sanctuaries and field schools in Indonesia. Students often travel with him to the Balinese Macaque Ethnoprimatlogy Field School to gain experience in collecting data about primates.
Dr. Dennis McCunney received the Staff Award for Achievement in International Service. He has coordinated service-based study abroad trips each year during his time at ECU. The alternative spring break experiences are offered as a political science independent study in partnership with ECU’s Center for Civic and Leadership Engagement. McCunney is the associate director of the Center of Student Success and an adjunct faculty member.
Student recognition
Otisia Bryan received the International Graduate Student Award. She is pursuing a master’s degree in construction management and is pictured with Chancellor Rogers and Dr. Jamel Pittman.
Three international students were recognized for their service to the community and academic achievement.
Otisia Bryan, a student in the construction management master’s program, received the International Graduate Student Award. Bryan is president of Architectural Technology Club and the graduate student advisor for Women in Construction and Technology. “What makes Otisia truly remarkable is her combination of academic excellence, professional poise and genuine concern of success for others,” said her teaching instructor, Dr. Jamel Pittman.
The International Undergraduate Student Award was presented to biology major Rashell Khemani. She was described as someone who seeks ways to build community and has the drive to find research and other academic opportunities to meet her goal of pursuing a Ph.D. in pharmacokinetics, the study of how the body handles a drug or substance over time.
Overall Outstanding International Student Award winner Stefany Panayiotou is a dance performance and choreography major from Cyprus. She has participated in several ECU theater productions, traveled with Teague to Amsterdam and won an ECU Study Abroad Photo Contest for a photo she submitted from her trip to Amsterdam.
Additional awards presented
Campus Internationalization Champion Award
- Bridget Bishop, associate general counsel, UNC System
- Erin Eatman, director of immigration, ECU
International Site Visit Program recipients
- Jessica Rogers, advisor, College of Fine Arts and Communication
- Jeffrey Skibins, associate professor, Department of Recreation Sciences and Sport Management
Collaborative Online Learning Initiative (COIL) Champions
- Ruby Yeh, associate professor, Human Development and Family Science
- Christy Rhodes, associate professor, Department of Interdisciplinary Professions
- Laura Levi Altstaedter, associate professor, Department of Foreign Language and Literatures
- Sachi Shearman, professor, Department of Communication
Study Abroad Photo Contest student winners
- Stefany Panayiotou
- Hannah Harris
- Graycen Faulk
- Stephanie Batayiannis
Pee Dee leads the Parade of Flags during International Education Week’s kickoff event, Nov. 17. (Photo by Steven Mantilla)
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