HPU Announces Academic and Professional Achievements; April 18, 2022
HIGH POINT, N.C., April 18, 2022 – High Point University faculty and students recently received the following academic and professional awards and recognitions.
HPU Senior Helps Local School Earn a Grant
Senior Liza Mason, a special education major, helped Ledford High School earn a grant of $1,000 for the Melinda Jacobs Innovation in Teaching Award sponsored by the NC Council of Administrators of Special Education (NCCASE). The high school used the funds to create the Wander Project, a sensory garden for students with disabilities, which in turn created the Friendship Table, which is a space for students and staff of different learning capabilities to come together, learn and feel comfortable.
Mason was placed at Ledford last year for her field-based practicum connected to one of her HPU classes in the Stout School of Education. During the spring of 2021, Mason helped her co-operating teacher apply for this grant.
“This opportunity helped me realize that the dream of being a teacher and making a difference in students with disabilities is achievable,” said Mason, a student from Bozeman, Montana. “This grant is making a dream a reality. By winning this grant, I was able to support students of varying levels of need and age, allowing them to come together to be unified. It made me recognize what I do is very special. I cannot wait to see the garden finished and students exploring it. I am ready to continue striving towards greater opportunities to support others.”
The grant is intended to recognize special education teachers in North Carolina who are implementing innovative strategies in their classrooms resulting in improved outcomes for students with disabilities and their families.
HPU Sophomore Places at National Selling Competition
Sophomore Zachary Amigo, a pharmacy student minoring in sales from Fort Mill, South Carolina, placed fourth overall at a national selling competition this month. HPU’s Professional Sales Club team traveled to Salisbury University in Maryland to compete in the three-day event at the National Intercollegiate Selling Competition.
Amigo went up against more than 130 competitors from 35 different universities to pitch in a real-world business selling situation. Students participated in a 12-minute sales call which was livestreamed for judges to assess and score each competitor. Competitors went through three rounds, and the top five performed their final sales call in front of the entire audience.
“It was an honor to represent HPU, and I learned through this experience that it doesn’t matter what your major is because learning how to communicate through sales is for everyone,” said Amigo. “Being a part of this group has helped my communication skills. Being able to negotiate and communicate with my pharmacy professors, students or researchers is a skill that the Professional Selling Club has helped me with.”
Amigo was one of five students chosen to represent HPU’s Professional Selling Club at the competition.