Spring 2022 Team

Bich Nguyen is a junior majoring in Communication Studies, and double minoring in Public Relations and Journalism. She previously did her internships in many well-known advertising agencies in Asia, Europe and the United States. Her experiences greatly improve her creative and strategic thinking, helping her come up with outstanding ideas for pitches. As a strong-willed and open-minded person, Bich is highly motivated to face challenges and turn them into opportunities. She values opportunities to grow intellectually and professionally. Her motto is to ‘not only work hard, but also work well’.

Leah Sherrell, from Kernersville NC, is a senior majoring in Communication Studies Major with a focus in video production and qualitative research. She currently works for a Wilmington wedding film company and loves the experience it has given her in storytelling, editing, and filming. In her free time, she loves cooking, reading and exploring new hobbies like gardening and surfing!

Kristen Brown moved from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to attend UNCW where she is now a senior majoring in Communication Studies with a focus in IMC. She currently works part-time to save up for travel after college, with hopes of moving to Texas to pursue a career in Social Media Marketing for one of the major airline companies. In her free time, she enjoys watching her favorite YouTube influencers, exploring local shops, and making matcha lattes.

Alexis Delia is originally from Washington D.C, and is majoring in Communication Studies, and double minoring in Entrepreneurship and Nonprofit Management. Her experience as Director of Community Engagement at UNCW gave her a passion for organizational leadership, volunteering, and her community. In her time at UNCW, she has served as the VP of Community Service for RHA, Co-Chair of the Seahawk Leadership Advisory Council, as well as a member of the 7 Seas Leadership Cohort. After graduation this Fall, Alexis plans to pursue a career in strategic marketing and continue searching for ways to serve her community. In her free time, you can find Alexis exploring new coffee shops, artisan markets, or planning her next trip!

Georgia Rowe is from Concord, North Carolina, majoring in Communication Studies with a focus in IMC. She is minoring in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and hopes to pursue a career in Social Media Marketing and one day open her own business. In her time at UNCW, she has devoted herself to Communication Studies Society as the Public Relations Chair and taken a leadership role as Emcee and Social Media Manager of Cru, an on-campus ministry. She also is a member of Lamda Pi Eta and served as a Seahawk Link. Her newest endeavor is Pier 601 Creative, where she hopes to expand her skills in marketing. Georgia is a lover of coffee, dogs (especially her goldendoodle), and Jesus!

Kelly Geiger has spent the last four years learning and growing in her degree of Communication Studies with a focus in Integrated Marketing Communication alongside a minor in Digital Arts.
Kelly maintained a full-time student role while holding a variety of leadership positions as well as her current jobs as a graphic design and marketing assistant for HALF UNITED and a creative design intern at nCino.
Post-Graduation she is interested in a graphic design position that will focus on brand development or content creation within a company that she feels connected to, whether that be because of the products sold, the company culture, or the meaning behind the brand. In her free time, she loves to listen and play music and check out the new cool spots around Wilmington with her friends!

Amanda Leahey is a junior majoring in both Spanish and communication studies with a focus in IMC. Outside of Pier601, she works as a programming intern for UNCW Campus Life planning and hosting student events. She has also served as the social media director for a school organization during her freshman year at NC State. In her free time, you can catch her writing articles for The Seahawk, winning field hockey games as part of the school's club team, and trying out Wilmington's best coffee shops. After graduating this fall, Amanda plans to go into marketing or public relations.

Abigail Morris, a Raleigh NC native, is Majoring in Communication at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her time at UNCW has provided her insight into critical thinking, interpersonal communication, and marketing concepts which has provided new perspectives and ideas that can translate well with a broad range of consumers. The knowledge she has accumulated within her academic career has aided her throughout her three years of game creation thus far, and has allowed her to create a personalized experience for players that is both thought-provoking and engaging. With an additional three years of creating personalized learning content for elementary students, she has gained a rich understanding of what drives intellectual curiosity.

Kevin was born in Germany to a military family and was raised in Goldsboro, North Carolina. He developed a passion for journalism and editing early on in high school where he was involved in working with the school newspaper and yearbook. He has an associate degree in general science from Wayne Community College. Currently, Kevin is a senior at UNCW and has found a passion for IMC within the Communication Studies department. Upon graduation, Kevin hopes to become a PR specialist for a major marketing firm. In his spare time, he enjoys writing, reading, playing video games, and playing soccer. 

Jaci Grachen, of Advance, NC is a senior majoring in Communication Studies with an IMC concentration and minoring in Digital Arts. She currently works for a local company, The N2 Company, as a publication design intern. Outside of school and work, Jaci enjoys cooking!She loves taking recipes from the famous food blogger Half Baked Harvest and adapting them to be her own.

Audri Van Gores, originally born in the Virgin Islands and from Brevard, North Carolina, is a senior at UNCW majoring in Communication Studies with a focus in IMC, along with a minor in English. Currently, Audri is a member and the secretary of Lambda Pi Eta (LPH). In her free time, she loves to cook, take beach and sunset photography, and create Pinterest boards. Outside of school, you can usually find her working at Playa Bowls to save up to move to Raleigh after graduation, where she plans to go into publishing and social media marketing.

Julianna Cavanagh, from a small town in Upstate New York called Oneida, is majoring in Communication Studies with a focus in IMC, with a minor in Business. Julianna has professional experience within both Marketing and Public Relations and is excited to bring her skills to the Pier601 team. Currently, Julianna is an Executive Research Associate at Gibson Consultants, where she assists the Marketing Director with internal projects and works alongside recruiters. She is also a member of Lambda Pi Eta, the Communication Studies Honor Society. In Julianna’s free time, she enjoys playing tennis, hanging out with friends/family, and laying out on the beach!

Julia Grant grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, she is a Communication Studies major with a primary focus in IMC, and a Spanish minor. Julia is interested in pursuing a career in Public Relations or Human Resources after she returns from a semester abroad in Spain studying intercultural communication in Fall 2022. She has professional experience in digital marketing through a Summer 2021 position as a Social Media Intern for television inspired shopping app Look the Part. Julia is excited to continue to improve her marketing skills, hone her style of leadership, and collaborate with her peers this semester in Pier601. She is a freelance content creator and spends her free time designing and sewing clothes, exploring local businesses in the community, and cooking pescatarian meals!

Zima Nguyen is a senior Communication major with a concentration in IMC and double minor in Psychology and Entrepreneurship. Nguyen is a passionate and detail-oriented creative who enjoys approaching projects with a holistic approach. Her background includes strong work ethic and communication work focused on experiencing real-world environments and building a digital marketing career. Nguyen implements the skills learned from a past experiences into her own coursework and daily life as she is the College Marketing Representative for UNCW Breakaway and previously was a Digital Marketing Intern at Socialry Marketing. Nguyen strives to combine the versatility of her IMC experience and skills learned from her two minors to create her own professional success.

Sarah Langston, of Raleigh, NC is majoring in Communication Studies with a focus in IMC, and minoring in Psychology and Business. She currently works at The N2 Company as an advertisement design intern. In her time at UNCW, she was a member of Chi Omega and served as T-Shirt Chair for the sorority. She is also a member of Lambda Pi Eta, the Communication Studies Honor Society. In her free time, she enjoys spending time on the beach, hanging out with friends, and walking the loop.

Justin Boardwine is a junior from Mocksville, NC majoring in Computer Science with a concentration of Digital Arts. Outside of the classroom, Justin works for Walmart Pharmacy as a certified pharmacy technician and runs JBB Visual Media, a ground and aerial media company in Wilmington, NC. He is also a member of the UNCW Men’s Club Lacrosse team playing as goalie and team videographer. After graduating, Justin plans on working in the digital media field creating brand promotional content. In his free time, he enjoys watching Manchester City FC and flying his drone over Wilmington.

Gable Knight is a junior from Wilmington, NC majoring in Communication Studies and minoring in Leadership Studies. Outside of the classroom, Gable works as an intern at Live Oak Bank on the Construction Loan team as well as interning as the head of marketing and communications for Christ Community Church in Wilmington. Gable is the Vice President of the Reformed University Fellowship on UNCW’s campus. Gable loves watching and playing all sports and spending quality time with those close to him.

OUR ADVISORS

Jeanne M. Persuit (Ph.D., Duquesne University, 2009) teaches courses in integrated marketing communication (IMC), public relations, advertising, rhetorical theory, and communication ethics at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Before returning to Duquesne University for her Ph.D., Dr. Persuit worked in IMC in the consulting engineering field and was a marketing communications manager for a Fortune 500 manufacturing company. While a doctoral student at Duquesne, Dr. Persuit helped pilot the IMC Commission - a group of undergraduate and graduate students who worked on projects for clients on- and off-campus - and she wanted to work with Dr. Bolduc on a similar project at UNCW. 

Fun Fact:  "I like to craft. Well, I like to collect crafting supplies and read about crafting.  I could be on Hoarders: Crafting Edition"

Kora Kelly is a graduate student from High Point, North Carolina receiving her master's degree in Integrated Marketing Communication. Kora received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Integrated Marketing Communication from the University of Mississippi with a minor in Business Administration and a specialization in Public Relations. She works as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Communication Studies department. She enjoys spending time with her dog Piper and being near the water whenever she can.

Bill Bolduc (Ph.D. Mass Communication, Florida State University) is an associate professor of communication studies at UNCW focusing on digital media production and media studies.  As a student of mass communication at his alma mater, Miami University (Ohio), he participated in Laws Hall & Associates, an applied learning program comprised of marketing, art and media students.  That experience contributed to his desire to work with Dr. Persuit in creating a student run agency at UNCW. He is excited to help shepherd this applied learning opportunity for students and hopes to see it grow into a thriving agency in the next few years.

Fun Fact: "I bicycle, surf my kayak, and coach my teenage daughter's soccer team for fun."

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