December 2025 Newsletter
CAHS December 2025 Newsletter
Jingles and Jokes
On December 5, 2025, students, faculty, staff, and community members gathered to attend the Communication Sciences and Disorders aphasia group’s “Jokes and Jingles” holiday show. Throughout the semester, graduate students Abby Mountz, Skylar Moddy, Kendall Stanley, and Mary Augusta Paris facilitated the weekly aphasia group under the direction of faculty member Sherri Winslow. In past years, the group has performed a holiday concert, and Ms. Winslow reintroduced the idea to the participants this year. It was met with an overwhelming “yes,” and preparations for the performance quickly began.
According to ECU Health, aphasia is a language disorder that affects how a person communicates. It is caused by damage to the area of the brain responsible for language expression and comprehension, and individuals may have difficulty understanding, speaking, reading, or writing. Many people develop aphasia following a stroke.
Performers in the group included Ervin Harris, Allen Pate, Betty Lou Howard, Brenda Knight, Warren Matthews, Andy Cummings, Debi Pierson, and Katherine Norris.
WNCT also covered the event, and their story can be viewed online. The aphasia/communication group meets each week in the College of Allied Health Sciences with a focus on improving language and communication skills through a variety of activities. For more information about the aphasia group, please contact 252-744-6100.
What kind of photos do elves take? An “elphie”!
🧸 ENC Engage Holiday Toy Drive
The Department of Addiction and Rehabilitation Studies ENC Engage group participated in their annual toy drive. This year, thanks to the community’s generosity, 155 toys were received and distributed this holiday season. Many thanks to those in the community who helped with the event.
White Coat Ceremony
On December 13, 2025, the East Carolina University Physician Assistant Program proudly celebrated its White Coat Ceremony at the Hilton, marking an important milestone for 33 PA students. The ceremony symbolized the students’ transition into their careers as practitioners and highlights their professional journey and commitment to compassionate, ethical patient care.
The event featured meaningful remarks from Interim Chair Professor Jane Trapp, Dr. Whaley, and alumni speaker Eric Meyer, PA-C, who shared reflections on professionalism, service, and the responsibilities that come with wearing the white coat. Numerous awards were given out including the Faculty of the year given to Ms. Colleen Grimone. Faculty and student highlights throughout the program emphasized the strong sense of community and support within the ECU PA Program.
The most memorable moment of the ceremony occurred as students received their white coats, each containing notes from generous donors, along with personal notes the students had written to themselves at the start of their clinical year. This powerful tradition served as a reminder of how far they have come and the purpose that will continue to guide them as future physician assistants.
Be on the lookout for a full PA dedicated newsletter coming soon!
Darby White (left) was recognized as the Outstanding Graduate Student.
The Palliative Care Award went to Eman Carter (right).
CAHS Recognition Ceremony
The College of Allied Health Sciences proudly celebrated commencement on Friday, December 19, 2025, honoring graduates’ dedication, resilience, and accomplishments. Family, friends, faculty, and staff gathered to recognize these graduates as they prepared to embark on careers that will advance health and well-being in communities everywhere.
This year, the College of Allied Health Sciences’ keynote speaker was Jarmichael R. Harris, MS, LCAS, Founder and CEO of Engage Recovery and Director of Scholastic Recovery for the Addiction Professionals of North Carolina. A two-time alumnus of East Carolina University and a passionate advocate for equity, recovery, and leadership, Harris delivered an inspiring address that resonated with graduates and guests alike
In his remarks, Harris encouraged graduates to lead with purpose, compassion, and courage. Drawing on his own journey in higher education and community advocacy, he reminded students that true success comes not just from individual achievement but from uplifting others and transforming systems to create inclusive opportunities for all. His message underscored the importance of service, resilience, and the use of one’s voice to drive positive change in health and beyond. Harris also led a spirited chant of “Purple” and “Gold” from the stage.
We congratulate the December 2025 graduates and extend our deep appreciation to faculty, staff, families, and supporters who helped make this milestone possible. Congratulations, graduates—your future is bright! To watch the recognition ceremony, please click here.
Congratulations to the Addiction and Rehabilitation Studies Outstanding Student Award, which was awarded to MS Clinical Counseling student, Gwendolyn Jones (left).
Outstanding Undergraduate Award was given to BS Rehabilitation Services awarded to Lauren Hudson (right).
💰 Scholarship Opportunities 📚
Through the generosity of donors and alumni, the ECU College of Allied Health Sciences offers many excellent scholarship opportunities for ECU students. These opportunities are available to both undergraduate and graduate students.
To apply, visit ECUAWard and sign in with your Pirate ID.
First, complete the ECU general application, which will ask for some general information and will update information (GPA, credit hours, etc.) from Banner.
Many scholarships are auto-match opportunities, which means that you will automatically be considered for any scholarships for which you meet the criteria based on your general application answers and the information uploaded from Banner.
After submitting your general application, you may see additional “apply-to” scholarships that require supplemental questions. Completing the supplemental questions is necessary for consideration for those scholarships.
Scholarships are credited to your ECU tuition bill, typically split between Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 unless you will graduate in the fall semester. In this case, the full scholarship will be awarded in Fall 2026. Selected recipients will be notified by mid to late spring.
Just a reminder that applications are due January 15, 2026.
🥗 No Quarter Cafe 🥪
Have no fear, the No Quarter Cafe will be back for the spring and serving meals on Tuesday’s and Thursdays!!!!
Hours for the spring service will be 11- 12:30 pm. Please note they only accept credit/debit cards.
PT students visit 8Ctane, Alumni Owned business
In December, a group of Physical Therapy students had the wonderful opportunity to visit 8Ctane Baseball, a company started and led by ECU DPT’s very own, Brandon Young! The goal of the visit was to see applied sports science in action. The students learned how motion capture and force plate technology are used to analyze pitching mechanics with the goals of enhancing performance and reducing injury risk.
The visit was followed by conversations around future research opportunities, helping DPT students think more intentionally about how to pursue meaningful, real-world capstone projects with their mentors. Experiences like this highlight the value of connecting classroom learning with applied practice and research.
Joey Casadonte, former ECU Bachelor’s and Master’s student in the department of Kinesiology, was gracious enough to show us everything the facility had to offer! Both Dr. Brandon Young and Joey Casadonte are prime examples of Pirate alumni pursuing excellence in performance and health science research.
Recent publications and presentations by CAHS Faculty, Staff, Students, and/or Alum:
Hu, Y., Wang, H., & Walenski, M. (2025). Prosodic perception in aphasia: a meta-analysis across functions, domains, and acoustic cues. Aphasiology, 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2025.2592636
Butcher, M., Sweeney, G., Beals, L., Klein, L., Savoie, P., Harris Wright, H., and Walenski, M. (2025, November). Semi-automated measurement of vowel formant centralization to assess acquired apraxia of speech from narrative samples. Poster presented at the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention. Washington D.C.
Surabhi, K., Mann, N., Sharp, J., Phipps, M., Becton, M., Hill, J., Roberts, D., Szatmari, E. M., & Hughes, R. M. (2025). Identification of actin mutants with neurodegenerative disease-like phenotypes via mutagenesis of the actin-ATP interface. Front Cell Neurosci, 19, 1543199. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2025.1543199
Szatmari, E. M., Moran, C., Cohen, S. J., Bashtovyy, D., Jacob, A., Bunner, W., Phipps, M., Lora, J. C., Stackman, R. W., & Yasuda, R. (2025). Lack of ADAP1/Centaurin-alpha1 Ameliorates Cognitive Impairment and Neuropathological Hallmarks in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer’s Disease. eNeuro, 12(11). https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0063-25.2025
Wang, J., Nishiyama, J., Parra-Bueno, P., Okaz, E., Oz, G., Liu, X., Watabe, T., Suponitsky-Kroyter, I., McGraw, T. E., Szatmari, E. M., & Yasuda, R. (2025). Rab10 inactivation promotes AMPAR trafficking and spine enlargement during long-term potentiation. Elife, 13. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.103879
Tahmasebirad, N., Snodgrass, T., Gilbert, I., Sitzman, T., Williams, J., O’Brien, K., & Perry, J. L. (2025). The influence of age and sex on the height of velopharyngeal closure. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 68, 5771-5781. https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00386
Congratulations to Sruthi Kannajoshylu, recipient of an Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (URCA) award! She is majoring in nutrition science and psychology and working with Dr. Erzsebet Szatmari, associate professor, Dept of Physical Therapy.
van der Veen SM, Stamenkovic A, France CR, Robinson A, Sabo R, Abtahi F, Thomas JS. The Effects of Virtual Immersive Gaming to Optimize Recovery (VIGOR) in Low Back Pain: A Phase II Randomized Controlled Trial. Healthcare. 2026; 14(2):142. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare14020142
van der Veen SM, Stamenkovic A, Abtahi F, Thomas JS. The Effects of Parabolic Arc Height and Velocity of a Target During Interception on Forward Reach Movement Mechanics. Applied Sciences. 2026; 16(1):144. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16010144
🎉 Awards and Recognition 🎉
The MVP for December goes out to our alumni, parents, and CAHS friends who donated snacks for finals. They were a HUGE hit with the students during a stressful time of year! Thank you for your continued support during Snacks for Finals.
-Mandy Messerli, Alumni Director
✏️ Important Dates ✏️
January 12 – Spring 2026 Classes begin
January 14 – Last day to make schedule changes (add/drop) for 1st 8-week Spring classes by 5:00 pm
January 16 – Last day to make schedule changes (add/drop) for Spring (full-semester) classes by 5:00 pm
January 19 – State Holiday (no classes)
January 21 – Final tuition due date for Spring 2026
February 1– Apply to graduate
February 28– PT the Pirate 5K
Save the Date:
10 years of Pirate Nation Gives– 3-4-26