HPU Awards Outstanding Alumni During Homecoming Weekend

High Point University recognized and celebrated outstanding alumni during the 2024 Homecoming Weekend from Nov. 1-3. Pictured from left are award winners Barry Kitley, Mickey Boles, Will Hedrick, Vickie McKiver, Meredith Beck, Wendell Epps, Tiffany Selberg, Lisa Carlson, Rebecca Ulrich and Brea Brown. Not pictured are North Carolina Rep. Donny Lambeth, and Robbie Siegfried, Heather Kirk and Brendan Biffany, who were unable to attend.

HIGH POINT, N.C., Nov. 11, 2024 – High Point University recognized and celebrated outstanding alumni during the 2024 Homecoming Weekend from Nov. 1-3, with thousands of HPU alumni participating in a variety of events on campus.

One highlight of the weekend was HPU’s annual Alumni Awards, hosted by its Alumni Association. The ceremony honors alumni who have made outstanding accomplishments and demonstrated a commitment to their community and the university.

Lifetime Achievement Award – Mickey Boles, Class of 1964 

Boles graduated from High Point College in 1964, served in the U.S. Army and is owner and CEO of Smith Phillips Building Supply. A strong community supporter and volunteer, he currently serves on the board of Blowing Rock Methodist Church. He previously served on the Board of Directors of the State Employees Credit Union Family House in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for six years, including one year as chair. He is the past president of Forsyth Country Club and of Hound Ears Club. He is a Paul Harris Fellow in Rotary International and a member of Knollwood Baptist Church, having served as deacon and on many committees. He has served locally with Habitat for Humanity, the United Way of Forsyth County, the Arts Council and on the board of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.

On a national and professional level, Boles has served on the Board of Trustees of Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia; the Board of Lumbermen’s Merchandising Corporation, with three years as chair; and with the Southern Building Material Association for North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. He and his family have a significant history with HPU, as three generations have attended the university. Throughout the years, he has stayed involved with HPU. He currently sits on HPU’s Board of Ambassadors, and his wife, Katy, is a former member of the Board of Trustees. As a loyal supporter of HPU for many years, Boles has been recognized on campus with the naming of the commons at centennial square and with an endowed scholarship named for his family.

“This family has an important history with our university,” HPU President Nido Qubein said about the Boles family. “Their support is instrumental as HPU continues down a pathway of success.”

Boles has been married for almost 60 years to Katy, a member of the Class of 1966. His daughter, Sallie, graduated from HPU in 1994, and his two grandchildren also earned degrees from HPU — Logan in 2017 and Ashton in 2020.

Alumnus of the Year: Barry Kitley, Class of 1993

Kitley entered High Point College in the fall of 1989 and graduated cum laude from High Point University in 1993 with a degree in business administration and economics. HPU President Nido Qubein served as the Commencement speaker that year. While on campus, Kitley was active with the Board of Stewards, worked part-time on campus in the print shop, was accepted into multiple honor societies and participated in intramural sports and other organizations on campus.

After graduation, Kitley joined the U.S. Army and graduated from the U.S. Army Signal School before attending graduate school at UNC Greensboro, where he obtained a Master of Public Affairs, setting out for a career in local public service. He transitioned to the private sector in the construction management industry before joining his alma mater at HPU. Throughout his career, he has remained focused on service to HPU by participating in the Hayworth Chapel Advisory Board in the mid-1990s and serving as the Panther Club’s  president. He was instrumental in working with the Panther Club to grow the organization through advocacy and dedication of resources. He then served on the Alumni Board for multiple terms, rising to its leadership post as president before accepting membership into the university’s Board of Visitors and its president-elect position prior to joining HPU as a full-time staff member in 2015. He is currently serving as senior vice president for university operations.

As one colleague said, “Barry is tirelessly dedicated to his alma mater and to ensuring that the many complex areas under his oversight function well. It’s not uncommon to joke that if we aren’t sure who is responsible for an area, it’s very likely Barry. Often, it is. And HPU is better for it.”

Kitley is one of HPU’s senior leaders responsible for helping the university receive the distinction of being named by The Princeton Review as the No. 1 Best Run College in the nation. His long line of HPU family graduates includes a great aunt, his mother, father, cousins, wife, Wendy, Class of 1996, and oldest daughter, Tory, who graduated this year. His daughter, Virginia, is a freshman at HPU.

President’s Award – N.C. Rep. Donny Lambeth, Class of 1972

Lambeth has served in the North Carolina General Assembly since 2013. He currently chairs the House Health Committee and is senior chair of House Appropriations. He also serves as a member of the Education – University Committee, K-12 Education Committee, State Pensions Committee and Insurance and Board of Governors Nomination Committee.

Lambeth has been named Legislator of the Year by various organizations and has introduced legislative bills related to health care and education during his tenure in the North Carolina General Assembly. Most significantly, he was the primary sponsor of HB76 Medicaid Expansion.

Lambeth retired from Wake Forest Baptist Health, where he served in a variety of leadership positions, including CEO of Baptist Hospital, Lexington Medical Center and Davie Medical Center. He is currently serving as CEO of 437 Logistics, a FedEx contractor in the Winston-Salem area. Over his career, he has received numerous recognitions from various state organizations and agencies. He was also recognized by The Business Journal as one of the region’s most influential leaders for six consecutive years. He and his wife, Pam, celebrated 50 years of marriage just prior to her passing in May of this year.

Alumni Service Award – Vickie McKiver, Class of 1980

McKiver graduated from High Point College in 1980. She was a member of the 1978 women’s basketball team that won a national championship and a member of the volleyball team. A lifelong High Point resident, she has spent her career working in local government. She served the city of Thomasville as director of Parks and Recreation for 35 years. In that role, she oversaw several capital projects, including extensive renovations to the city’s Central Recreation Center, and increased the number of programs and activities offered to the citizens of Thomasville.

She currently sits on the High Point City Council, where she brings 40 years of experience to the city of High Point. Over her career, she has been part of several boards, including Communities in Schools, United Way and the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council. She has been married for 39 years to her husband, Abraham, and they have three daughters and one grandson.

Each year, HPU also honors 10 young alumni who graduated within the last 10 years. This year’s Top 10 Under 10 are:

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  Meredith Beck, Class of 2014, excelled as an electronic media and film major. Upon graduation, she started her career as a producer at WGHP Fox-8 in High Point, and currently works as an executive producer for Fox 8. Throughout her career, Beck has been awarded many achievements. Most notably, she won her first Emmy this year for her work on a NASCAR special, “Comeback Track: Returning to North Wilkesboro.”

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  Brea Brown, Class of 2015, earned her degree in biochemistry and won the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher award while at HPU. Upon graduation, she attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she received her Ph.D. in genetics and molecular biology. While at UNC, she contributed to the field of molecular genetics and immunology and founded the Society for Black Biomedical Scientists. She was also a campuswide leader. She has been awarded the prestigious National Science Foundation award in support of her research. She has also been awarded more than $500,000 in research funding from the National Institutes of Health and Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Brown is now a post-doctoral researcher at Columbia University, continuing to publish in scientific journals and preparing for her own independent scientific career.

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  Elizabeth “Lisa” Carlson, Class of 2016, graduated with a double major in psychology and strategic communications and a minor in Spanish. During her time on campus, she was a campus ambassador, peer mentor and captain of the HPU club tennis team. After graduation, Carlson started her career in university recruiting and has spent more than six years at Gartner, a technological research and consulting firm. In her role, she has pioneered new strategic hiring initiatives and implemented process improvements that have contributed to her business unit’s successes on a global scale. She takes pride in recruiting contributors to the company and helping college students launch their careers. She has won numerous awards highlighting her innovation, collaboration and contributions to the company on a global level. Additionally, Carlson is a member of the Junior League of Charlotte, where she volunteers in the community. This year, she has focused her efforts on supporting students in local school districts. She also received her certification to teach tennis, which allows her to coach and share her passion for the sport with children, adults and special needs individuals.

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  Wendell Epps, Class of 2023, graduated from HPU, magna cum laude, with a degree in sports media. He was a play-by-play announcer for HPU Athletics on ESPN+, calling more than 100 games over four years. He was named HPU’s Sports Broadcaster of the Year in 2022, and HPU’s Bob Ryan Sports Reporter of the Year in 2023. Upon graduation, Epps started working for the NBA’s Orlando Magic as its radio graduate associate, where he called all Magic radio broadcasts. He was also an on-air personality for the NBA G League affiliate of the Orlando Magic. Currently, Epps is the live radio play-by-play announcer of the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. He recently had the opportunity to call a Lynx’s game in the 2024 WNBA Finals. He serves as the face of the Lynx’s digital content platforms, conducting player interviews and season updates. He also hosts Lynx Unleashed, the team’s official podcast.

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  Will Hedrick, Class of 2021, earned his degree in entrepreneurship. He was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order and a resident assistant during his time on campus. In true entrepreneurial and HPU fashion, Hedrick has been starting companies since high school. At age 18, he received his real estate license and was able to sell some of the most expensive homes in North Carolina. In 2022, Hedrick founded myCharity, a nonprofit organization on a mission to make donating easier, more informational and more transparent. Donors can choose from more than 40 causes, track their donation and then see its impact in the field with photos, videos and financial field reports, proving the exact impact their donation made. He calls it “the Amazon for Donating.” Hedrick volunteers on campus with the entrepreneurship department, mentoring student entrepreneurs, and is a member of the Young Alumni Council.

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  Tiffany Selberg, Class of 2022, a first-generation student graduated with a degree in marketing and minors in sales and social media marketing. While on campus, she served as a university ambassador and social media marketing research assistant. Upon graduating, she became the first person from HPU to work at TikTok, where she has been a part of the first and only sales team in North America to specialize in TikTok Shop advertising features, helping more than 150 small businesses grow their revenue one TikTok Shop at a time. In addition to her career at TikTok, she works with Lionsgate and Scholastic to promote the “Hunger Games” prequel films and books through her own “Hunger Games” Instagram account. She was able to combine this with her career to collaborate alongside the Partnership Management team at TikTok on the Lionsgate account to bring the first-ever interactive billboard experience to Times Square last October to promote “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” movie premier.

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  Rebecca Ulrich, Class of 2018, graduated from HPU, summa cum laude, with a degree in biochemistry and a minor in physics. She won the University Award for Leadership. She participated in research all four years, receiving several national awards and fellowships. After graduation, Ulrich attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she completed her Ph.D. in chemistry. She was supported by two prestigious fellowships: a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and a National Institutes of Health training fellowship. While completing her doctorate, Ulrich published seven papers in prestigious journals. Most recently, she received the American Chemical Society’s Irving S. Sigal Postdoctoral Fellowship, which is awarded to one person every two years. She is completing her postdoctoral fellowship at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where she studies tuberculosis in hopes to develop better drugs to treat the disease.

The following three alumni were honored, although they were unable to attend:

• Robbie Siegfried, Class of 2017, serves as chief of staff at the Siegfried Group in California, where he lives with his wife and new baby.
• Heather Keck, Class of 2019, works in California as a cardiovascular perfusionist, a medical professional who operates life support equipment in the operating room to support a patient’s circulatory and respiratory systems.
• Brendan Biffany, Class of 2015, furthered his studies at Duke University’s School of Law, where he graduated as a valedictorian. He is a class actions lawyer at Robinson Bradshaw, where he represents defendants in high-profile cases.