2010-2011 Finalist of Distinction for Outstanding Senior
Finalists of Distinction for Outstanding Senior
(left to right): Maggie Walston, Parteek Singla and Rachel Steeb
The East Carolina Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi annually presents an award to the Outstanding Senior at ECU. The winner receives a plaque and a check for $1000 from the chapter. This year the chapter also selected three finalists of distinction. Each received a check for $100.
Parteek Singla, a native of Greenville, NC, is the first Finalist of Distinction. An EC Scholar and Brody School of Medicine Early Assurance Scholar, Parteek graduated in May 2011 summa cum laude with a BS in biology and a minor in international studies. During his undergraduate career, Parteek completed a summer research internship at the National Institutes of Health in HIV/AIDS research and one at Harvard University in immunology. He did his honors thesis research with Dr. Rachel Roper at the Brody School of Medicine on efforts to develop a safer poxvirus vaccine. Parteek has been an active community volunteer and leader. With the help of the Volunteer and Service Learning Center, he started his own nonprofit organization, Kids with Knowledge, and raised over $10,000 to help life-changing projects in Uganda and Ghana. This past summer he volunteered at an eye clinic in Ghana and in the summer of 2011 he will travel to Spain to take classes before starting medical school at Brody in the fall. Eventually he plans to become a physician in eastern North Carolina.
The second Finalist of Distinction is Rachel Steeb. Rachel too is an EC scholar and member of the Honors program. She graduated in May summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She completed an honors thesis under the direction of Dr. Kim Larson, examining the barriers to prenatal education experienced by women of diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds in rural eastern North Carolina. Rachel also received the ECU Undergraduate Research Award and the Sigma Theta Tau Beta Nu research award. She currently serves as Vice President of the senior nursing class, is the student representative on the undergraduate curriculum committee in nursing, and is employed at Pitt County Memorial Hospital as a Nurse Aide II in the Emergency Department. Rachel has been a passionate participant in ECUs Relay for Life, serving as co-captain for the nursing team. Upon graduation, she plans to move to Charlotte to seek employment as a registered nurse.
The third Finalist of Distinction is Maggie Walston. A native of Snow Hill, Maggie is an EC scholar and member of the Honors program. She graduated in May with university honors and a major in Speech and Hearing Sciences with a minor in English. In the summer of 2009, she studied in London. Her senior honors thesis, under the direction of Dr. Betty Smith, examined observational data on clients from birth through age 5 in order to correlate the developmental stages of play with stages of speech and language development. At ECU Maggie has been an active member of the ECU Ambassadors service leadership society. She is currently their Philanthropy Committee chairperson. She is also a member of the National Student Speech, Language and hearing Association. Eventually she plans to become a speech language pathologist in a hospital or clinic setting. Her first step will be to enter a Masters degree program this fall.
The winner of the 2010-2011 Outstanding Senior award is Deepak Ravindranathan from Calabash, NC. Deepak is an EC Scholar and member of the university Honors program. He graduated in May summa cum laude with dual degrees: a BS in Biochemistry and a BA in Chemistry. He received an ECU Undergraduate Research Award to fund his honors thesis project with Dr. Shoqan Huo in Chemistry to develop and characterize highly emissive platinum complexes. He recently published his first academic article as lead author in the Inorganic Chemistry Journal. He has also presented his research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and at the American Chemical Society. In the summer of 2011, Deepak will travel to Europe to conduct a comparative analysis of natural resource management and recreational practices in four countries. Active on campus, Deepak served for two years as the student representative to the Phi Kappa Phi executive board. He mentored children at Belvoir Elementary School, volunteered at Pitt Memorial Hospital and the Hobgood and Grimesland clinics, and is serving as President of the ECU Chemistry Club and Vice-President of the Rural Health Volunteer Society. Deepak was also a 2011 recipient of the Elite Pirate Award for top student leaders. Deepak plans to complete a Masters program in Chemistry before enrolling in medical school. Eventually he hopes to become a practicing physician in eastern North Carolina.