Alumni & Sports Hall of Fame Awards Dinner

This honor is given to an alumnus or alumna who has at least 15 years of professional experience and has attained the highest level of success in their specialized field. The recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Award upholds the university’s ideals of Faith, Knowledge and Service to the fullest extent. The recipient should be held in the highest regard by his or her peers and coworkers as someone who has truly distinguished themselves.

NATASHA GILBERT
CLASS OF 1997

Even in a corporation known for its customer service, Natasha Gilbert’s Chick-fil-A restaurants go above and beyond. In 2020, the Belmont, N.C., restaurant owned by Natasha and her husband, Tony, was named Business of the Year by the Montcross Area Chamber of Commerce.

A couple of years later, Gilbert, a communication major at Wingate, was named chair of the Montcross Chamber, and she has given back in other ways over the years as well. In addition to using her company’s influence to help local charities, such as Holy Angels and Catherine’s House, she is a strong mentor for other small-business owners. She is an operator consultant for a Chick-fil-A in Charlotte, and she works with the Chick-fil-A Leadership Academy.

“I like to share my experience and influence to help others achieve their goals,” Gilbert says. “I did not grow up with much and feel very blessed that others saw things in me that I did not see in myself. If not for community leaders pouring into me, I would not have achieved the success I enjoy today.”

Gilbert says Wingate gave her the confidence to pursue her dreams, and she stays in contact with several of her classmates. “Wingate fostered a sense of community that has been such an important part of my life,” she says. “Relationships are everything to me, and I am fortunate that I learned that while attending Wingate.”

The Gilberts own a pair of Chick-fil-A restaurants in the Belmont area. In her spare time, she likes to hike, spend time with family and help out in the community.

This honor is given to an alumnus or alumna who has less than 15 years of professional experience and exhibits the greatest level of performance in their specialized field. The Outstanding Young Alumnus/Alumna Award recipient also upholds the University's ideals of Faith, Knowledge and Service to the highest degree. The recipient should be held in the highest regard by his or her peers and coworkers as someone who has truly distinguished themselves.

AARON SHAVER
CLASS OF 2016

Aaron Shaver worked in corporate pharmacy for a few years after graduating from Wingate’s School of Pharmacy in 2016, but he got a lot of joy out of working part-time at Parsons Drug Company in his wife’s hometown of Wadesboro, N.C. Living in Anson County, he grew to understand the dire need for medical providers in rural areas.

Shaver bought the nearly 150-year-old Parsons Drugs in 2021. “Rural, small towns cannot thrive without strong community service and the commitment of community members,” he says. “Community service ensures that areas can meet the needs of their residents and continuously grow and provide for the future.”

It would have been easy to continue working as a pharmacist with a large company, but at Wingate Shaver was encouraged to step out of his comfort zone and be a leader. He was part of the Student Government Association and Orientation, and he held leadership roles in his fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi.

It culminated in his decision to buy a historic local asset and continue providing care to his adopted community. “I am most proud of having the courage to step out of corporate pharmacy, purchasing an independent pharmacy, and challenging myself to grow the business and offer the care our community deserves,” Shaver says. “We have seen tremendous growth within our three years of pharmacy ownership and are excited to see what the future holds!”

In his spare time, Shaver spends time with his family and enjoys visiting the coast.

The recipient of the Excellence in Service Award consistently upholds the University’s value of service. The recipient of this award has a history of giving back to the campus community and the greater community, showing a knowledge of the value of serving others. The recipient of this accolade ought to be seen by their colleagues as a civic leader who is unwavering in his or her dedication to helping others.

TERRANCE HINTON
CLASS OF 2003

Terrance Hinton says his commitment to service really took off when he joined the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity at Wingate. Since graduating with a degree in biology in 2003, Hinton has made service a significant part of his life while forging a career in academics.

After earning his Ph.D. from Walden University in 2018, Hinton joined the faculty at The Ohio State University, teaching criminal justice courses. That professional arc dovetails nicely with his service-oriented pursuits. Hinton works with several community organizations that help the formerly incarcerated make the transition back into society. Hinton estimates that he has worked with 4,000 “justice-impacted individuals” over the years.

“Assisting individuals who have been incarcerated for years and helping them with items such as employment, substance abuse, housing or pursuing their education so that they can support themselves and their families is what gets me out of bed every day,” he says.

Hinton has worked with the Harmony Project, the Ohio Justice Alliance of Community Corrections, the Franklin County Reentry Advisory Board, the Supreme Court of Ohio Reentry Task Force/Education & Workforce Subcommittee, and the Ohio Prison Education Exchange Project, among other organizations.

Hinton says his parents’ volunteer pursuits planted the seeds of service within him; those seeds were watered and nurtured at Wingate. “Because of my time at Wingate, I have been able to incorporate Wingate’s principles of Faith, Knowledge and Service into my own personal and professional life,” he says.

In his free time, Hinton says he likes to stay in shape, read, watch sports and be involved in his children’s activities.

This award recognizes an alumnus or alumna who has shown leadership in advancing diversity and raising awareness for underrepresented groups in their profession or community. The recipient of this honor appreciates how diversity contributes to the vitality of his or her neighborhood and opens doors for cultural development. This person ought to exemplify the notion of a philanthropist and a link between the populations he or she serves.

KIMBERLY JINORIO SWANSON
CLASS OF 2009

As an immigration lawyer, Kimberly Jinorio Swanson advocates to level the playing field for families looking to secure a stable future in the United States. After earning a Human Services degree from Wingate, she went on to gain a master’s in social work from UNC Chapel Hill. After working in the social work field for several years, she entered law school when her daughter was just 1-year-old. Studying law while raising a family proved challenging, but she graduated from North Carolina Central University’s School of Law in 2021, having added two young family members while in school.

“I finished with a 1-year-old, 5-year-old and 7-year-old,” she says. “Graduating two years after my cohort was disheartening, but nothing can compare to graduating cum laude with my three children.”

At the E. A. Wood Law Firm, Jinorio Swanson works on a team that provides compassionate and trauma-informed services to asylees, victims of human trafficking and crime, and families fighting to stay together. She also serves the Durham Immigrant Legal Network, a new program started by JusticeMatters NC that provides representation to those in immigration-court proceedings. 

In Bahama, N.C., Jinorio Swanson and her husband own land that they have lovingly named Living Sanctuary Homestead. At Living Sanctuary Homestead, a nonprofit called the Bridge International has found its home. The organization works with survivors of human trafficking, providing them with resources and hope. Jinorio Swanson is also the North Carolina Chapter Liaison to the American Immigration Attorney Association’s Attorney Well-Being Committee and is active at her church, Mt. Bethel Presbyterian.

Jinorio Swanson says she found her “place of belonging” at Wingate while volunteering and leading UCAN (University Community Assistance Network). Working with UCAN helped hone her leadership skills and taught her to trust the good intentions of others.

“In my line of work, you see and hear the very worst of humanity – human trafficking, religious and political persecution, family separation – but by serving and watching others serve, I am able to cling to the knowledge that there is good in the world and that one day, the light will drive out the darkness,” she says.

In her free time, Jinorio Swanson likes to garden, take care of her chickens and dogs, play hide and seek with her kids on their land, and kayak the Eno River.

This honor recognizes individuals who are not Wingate alumni but who demonstrate respect and admiration for its core values of Faith, Knowledge and Service through their actions. This award honors University friends who exhibit outstanding and uncommon achievement in their professions and whose civic, community and public service are both exemplary and exceptional.

ED & MILLIE WEST

Ed West built a long career in an under-the-radar industry that is necessary to keep petroleum products – and, thus, the wider economy – moving: steel drums. General Steel Drum Co., which he founded in south Charlotte in 1979, is still a major player in the industry, 13 years after West sold it.

West began his career in 1965 with the Savannah Steel Drum Corp. (later to become Rheem Manufacturing), serving as director of marketing, district sales manager and regional sales manager, living in Atlanta, Savannah and New Orleans. But he was destined to lead his own operation, so he moved to Charlotte to start General Steel Drum.

As West was building his company, he was also strengthening the steel-drum industry. He served as the chairman of the Steel Shipping Container Institute and founded the Southeastern Chemical Conference. He also has lifetime membership in the Petroleum Packing Council. Even after he sold his company, to Portland, Oregon-based Stavig Industries, West continued to work, serving as vice president of sales for nearly a decade, before retiring after 56 years in the industry.

Millie had a career of her own, working in marketing and sales for an international chemical company for 30 years, including serving as sales executive for the last decade of her career.

West and his wife, Millie, also serve their church, New City Church, in Charlotte. He says he enjoys “helping others reach their potential.”

The Wests worship at New City Church in Charlotte. They regularly serve the charities Safe Alliance, A Child’s Place, the Harvest Center and the Humane Society.

West has also served the University and its students as a member of the Board of Trustees for almost 20 years. And both Wests enjoy Wingate Athletics, especially football and soccer.