ECU Public Service Fellows

Published Jun 23, 2018 by
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Founded in 2015, ECU’s Public Service Fellows Program funded by the State Employees Credit Union Foundation placed students with community partners each year.  Twenty-two students were selected for the PSF program this year. Two planning students were the fellowship recipients. Jennifer Basil with the Association of Mexicans in North Carolina (AMEXCAN) and William Stanton with Uptown Greenville.

Jennifer Basil at the NC Oral Health Care Event in Raleigh, NC. June 5th, 2018

“On June 5th I attended NC oral health care day in Raleigh. At this event, there was a seminar before to explain the tasks for the day and the reason behind this day. What I learned from participating was surprising to me because I did not know what to expect when coming to this event. Advocating for equal opportunity oral health care statewide has much more meaning behind it than just to do with brushing and flossing. For me, I was there representing AMEXCAN and the Latino/Hispanic community because they are often pushed aside as language barriers can make it difficult for them to understand medical information accurately.

I learned that in North Carolina there are still 3 counties without dentists and the state has not considered that a big enough problem to step in yet. Dental care is often thought of from the state as not as important which is a huge issue because oral health care problems are the 3rd leading reason why people visit the emergency room. The entire health care system needs to be accessible to all, and oral health care is often overlooked. I had a motivational day talking to legislators about these issues. And I hope to continue my journey in creating social justice for the health care system for all age groups, financial status, and ethnicities.”     – Jennifer Basil

William Stanton (left) at one of the Uptown Greenville’s Umbrella Market events.

The Umbrella Market is a weekly uptown farmer’s market, which attracts people to the heart of Greenville for fresh produce, meats, seafood, handmade arts, jewelry, antiques, vintage items, homemade bath products, baked goods, local craft brew and more.

William is also interning at the Pitt County Planning Department this summer as well as participating in the Farmville Greenway Project lead by Dan Hamme (Planning Graduate Certificate program).

 

 

This is the fourth year that our planning students are selected as PSF fellows. Previous PSF planning fellows: Gilbert Combs (alum, associate planner at the City of Wilmington) with Uptown Greenville in 2015, Damiere Powell (alum, owner of NC Mapping & Design) with Greene County in 2016, Andrew Strong (alum, planner at Town of Harrisburg) with Uptown Greenville in 2016, and Kenneth Staton (senior student) with the Chamber of Commerce in Windsor, NC, in 2017.