Awards and Honors: July 2024
Two HPU alumnae recently won high-profile beauty pageants and will compete for the opportunity to represent the United States on an international stage.
HIGH POINT, N.C., July 8, 2024 – High Point University students, faculty and staff recently completed service projects and received the following academic and professional awards.
HPU Alumnae Compete, Win Pageant Titles
Two HPU alumnae recently won high-profile beauty pageants and will compete for the opportunity to represent the United States on an international stage.
Kenzie Hansley, a December 2020 cum laude graduate of HPU with a degree in broadcast journalism and a minor in business administration, was named Miss North Carolina USA in June. She will compete in the Miss USA 2024 pageant, which takes place July 27-Aug. 4 in Los Angeles, California. The pageant will air live on The CW on Aug. 4, and the winner will advance to the Miss Universe 2024 pageant in Mexico.
“Becoming Miss North Carolina USA has been a lifelong dream of mine,” Hansley said. “I chose to attend High Point University after winning the Miss North Carolina Teen USA title in 2017 and receiving the presidential scholarship to attend HPU. Four years after graduating from High Point University, those dreams came true.
“The faculty, staff and students at High Point University always supported me on my journey to chase this dream, often coming to my community service events. HPU President Nido Qubein and Andy Bills (senior vice president for career and professional development) always made it a point to ask about my pageantry. If it were not for the support and dedication of the incredible faculty and staff, I would not be where I am. They pushed me to be my very best in every classroom, ultimately helping to make me the most confident version of myself. The life skills I learned at High Point University have shown to be a unique advantage in the multifaceted world of being Miss North Carolina USA. I hope to be able to give back to my HPU community and make everyone who has supported me along the way proud.”
Hansley lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and works as a chief marketing officer at Silver Line Packaging and Distribution. As a sexual assault survivor, she used her platform to provide resources for women and teens and expand her self-defense series, Women on Fire. Her goal is to mentor other women and young girls.
Kiersten Khoury, a Class of 2023 HPU alumna, was crowned Miss Massachusetts on June 22. She will compete in the Miss America pageant in January 2025 in Orlando, Florida.
Khoury, who majored in entrepreneurship and minored in sales at HPU, held the title of Miss Bay State as she competed June 21-22 in the Miss Massachusetts Scholarship Competition to earn a $15,000 scholarship. She is a recruiter for Acceler8, a high-tech talent acquisition firm, and president of Krowning Khoury, a coaching firm to help princess-through-teen pageant contestants with interview, gown, fashion modeling, styling and on-stage questions.
“Winning Miss Massachusetts and competing on the Miss America stage has been a dream of mine since I was 4 years old,” said Khoury. “It was the most surreal feeling hearing my name called 19 years later. This truly is a dream come true.”
Khoury held the title of Miss American Coed while she was a student at HPU. She also served as the recruitment chair of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. Hansley was vice president of Zeta Tau Alpha at HPU when Khoury was a freshman. Hansley also was president of the communication honors society Lambda Pi Eta and a University Ambassador.
“HPU and the state of North Carolina have become my second home,” Khoury said. “High Point University allowed me to utilize some of the life skills I have learned throughout my time in pageantry while developing new skills that have made me a more well-rounded young woman. I will forever be grateful for the knowledge, friends and memories I gained at High Point University.”
HPU Student Wins Scholarship, Interns at Capitol
Anna Claire Miller, a rising senior Honors Scholar and journalism major on the pre-law track, is one of eight North Carolina college students awarded the 2024 DeJoy-Woś Scholarship to participate this summer in programs hosted by The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) in Washington, D.C.
The TFAS program pairs students with internships in their field of study. Through TFAS, the 2024 Scholars intern with prominent companies and organizations in the greater Washington, D.C., area, including news organizations, think tanks, the U.S. Congress and government relations firms.
“Interning and writing for The Well News is an experience that will impact my life and my career,” said Miller, who is from LaGrange, Georgia. “I am able to write, report and network with my colleagues as I learn, grow and improve in my profession. This experience in Washington, D.C., is one that I believe will help me as I pursue a career in journalism after graduation in December 2024. I am ecstatic to learn, work and explore the city and would not be here without the generosity of the DeJoy-Woś Family Foundation and TFAS. I will always be appreciative of their belief in me.”
To be eligible for the DeJoy-Woś Scholarship, students must attend college in North Carolina or be residents of the state. Another scholarship is reserved for a student from Estonia. The DeJoy-Woś Family Foundation of Greensboro, North Carolina, has funded the DeJoy-Woś Scholarship program for 19 years.
“We are proud to offer this incredible learning opportunity for nine deserving young leaders to engage in valuable leadership development and internship experiences across Washington this summer,” said Louis DeJoy of the DeJoy-Woś Family Foundation. “These students will go on to be leaders in business, public policy, law and journalism and will shape society for the better.”
Physical Therapy Students Serve Special Olympic Athletes
HPU Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students volunteered with the 2024 Special Olympics at North Carolina State University in Raleigh on June 1. The group was part of the Healthy Athletes screening services, which screened athletes for range of motion and flexibility, strength, aerobic fitness and balance.
“Volunteering at the Special Olympics North Carolina tournament was an amazing opportunity to collaborate with other HPU DPT students in addition to PT students from other schools while performing health screenings for the athletes,” said Sarah Van Duser, a third-year DPT student. “Getting to know every athlete who came through our station was super fun while we assessed their balance capabilities through timed outcome measures, including tandem stance, single leg stance and the timed up and go test.”
The students educated athletes along with their coaches and caregivers on the importance of screenings in this population for ensuring their safety while optimizing performance in their sport. Athletes were also provided feedback on specific areas they can improve.
Volunteering for events such as the Special Olympics provides DPT students with real-world learning outside the classroom and hands-on experience with a population that they may not see during clinical rotations. It is also a fantastic way for students to learn new skills involving physical therapy and practice working as part of a team.
“Participating in this event allowed me to work with a population that I have never had the chance to work with before, and I learned so much about how to navigate patients with varying levels of function while making sure they felt safe and were having fun,” said third-year DPT student Gianna Gravius.
In addition, third-year DPT students recently participated in an innovative collaboration between HPU’s Recreation Services, the Office of Counseling Services and the Department of Physical Therapy to improve the health and professional longevity of their students.
Physician Assistant Student Elected to National Board
Lauren Pinelli, a Class of 2025 physician assistant student, was elected to the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) Student Academy Board of Directors as the Southeast regional director. She said she applied for the position to advocate for others who may not be able to self-advocate.
“I am very much looking forward to my work with AAPA and owe much of this success to the environment at HPU,” said Pinelli, who is from Princeton, New Jersey. “Each member of the MPAs faculty and staff has served as a model for the values and principles the program was built upon, and I am truly grateful for their continued mentorship and support throughout both my academic and professional pursuits.”
The AAPA is the national professional society for PAs and represents more than 178,000 PAs across the country and the uniformed services.
“Lauren will represent the HPU PA Program well and will help advance the national reputation of our program in her work with the AAPA Student Academy Board of Directors,” said Dr. James Johnson III, chair and program director of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies.