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Student Success | Summer 2026

Published Jul 31, 2026 by
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Check out this sampling of CFAC student successes during the previous quarter, from about May to July 2026. Congratulations to everyone in ARRRGH college for their great successes!

Rising music junior Chase Barnette was one of nine student composers across the state to have a piece chosen for performance during the Raleigh Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming season. Barnette composed “String Quartet, No. 1: Österreich,” and premiered it during the March Premiere Performances recital on campus with the student ensemble Stratus Quartet.

Connor Barry, a rising journalism senior in the School of Communication, has a summer communication internship at Carolina Golf Association. He runs the social media pages, takes photos/videos of golfers, creates graphics, conducts interviews, and write press releases.

School of Art and Design student Evie Eller is a content creation and destination marketing intern this summer for Visit Sanford/Sanford Tourism Development Authority.

School of Art and Design student Taylor Greene is an intern this summer at CAE USA in Arlington, Texas.

Continuing a new relationship between the School of Art and Design and the Brody School of Medicine, art MFA student Austin Irby led a session in June with this year’s medical humanities track students, discussing his work, sharing physical prints, and sharing a conversation about the patient experience. In July, MFA student Narges Sedaghat led a collage workshop for both art and medical humanities students.

Abria Kornegay, a rising media studies senior in the School of Communication, has a marketing and communications internship this summer at PSA Airlines (owned by American Airlines) in Charlotte. Abria handles marketing for events, recruitment, internal operations, and social media, creating event plans, social media plans, marketing plans, graphics and more.

School of Communication student Parker Lee is a public information intern this summer at Greenville Utilities Commission.

School of Communication student Nicole Matos is spending her summer in Raleigh as a 2026 intern with McKeeman Communications, a full-service public relations and communications agency that partners with brands to develop strategic messaging and impactful campaigns. Matos is gaining hands-on experience supporting social media, writing, and overall campaign efforts while continuing to grow in the communication field.
School of Communication graduate student BJ Miles is a summer intern at Creative Artists Agency, widely recognized as the top talent agency in Hollywood. He is part of CAA Creators, “a global, multi-disciplinary representation, sales, advisory services, and corporate development practice,” which represents clients including Zendaya, Harry Styles, Sabrina Carpenter, Meryl Streep, and Quenlin Blackwell.
The School of Theatre and Dance is excited to welcome incoming freshman Kate Miller-Vail, a member of the Brinkley-Lane Scholars, the most prestigious award program offered at ECU.

Music therapy student Sadie Page wrote a blog post for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in North Carolina, sharing her story about her journey with mental illness, involvement with NAMI On Campus, and music therapy. NAMI shared Sadie’s story in May, during Mental Health Awareness Month.

School of Communication student Zevonnie Prayer is a marketing and fan engagement intern with ECU Athletics this summer. During this internship, she is responsible for ensuring the seamless operation of all ECU Athletics events. Her duties include contributing to fan engagement through games and events, and assisting in the organization and execution of sponsor events.

In case you missed it, the college has a strong relationship going with the North Carolina legislature, which offers a great opportunity for School of Art and Design students to have some of their pieces on display in our local lawmakers’ — and lawmaker alums’ — offices in Raleigh. We are now alternating between undergraduate and graduate works, so recently installed for Summer and Fall 2026 are pieces by:

  • Heather Fraccalvieri (Rep. Gloristine Brown, District 8/Pitt)
  • Morgan Hesse (Rep. Matthew Winslow ’00, District 7/Franklin and Vance)
  • Rachael Lowman ’26 (Winslow)
  • Autumn Standbridge (Rep. Dr. Timothy Reeder, District 9/Pitt)

School of Communication feature writing and design students completed and released the Spring 2026 issue of the award-winning “Countenance” magazine. Read a hard copy around the community, or enjoy the stories online.

Our ECU Symphonic Wind Ensemble took a tour through North Carolina this spring, performing at high schools around the state. We appreciated host conductors Bryan Myers, Chris White, Matt Minick, and Carolina Perez. Our ECU Chamber Singers also took a spring tour, performing around the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. These are great opportunities for the students in our ensembles to travel and to share their talent and the ECU experience with high school students.

Our graduating seniors in acting and musical theatre put together a showcase that faculty members filmed and edited for everyone’s enjoyment. These talented artists spent years honing their craft, and the showcase highlights their incredible dedication, creativity, and passion.

We ended Spring 2026 with another wonderful celebration of our graduates, both during the ECU commencement, and our CFAC Graduate Recognition Ceremony. Congratulations to all of our graduates!