2025 Society Dinner and Alumni
Awards Recognition Ceremony 

Now back at Wingate as a math instructor four decades after he graduated with a B.S. in mathematics, Jeff Knull ’84 admires the consistency of care and compassion at the University.

“Every day at Wingate I witnessed true professionals nurturing and educating their students,” he says. “My professors at Wingate were such marvelous examples of caring and compassionate educators. The example set by the faculty at Wingate University during my time as a student set the standard that I would strive to follow. As a current faculty member at Wingate, I continue to marvel at the dedication and caring with which the current faculty approaches their work.”

Knull spent 40 years in high-school classrooms, including 30 working as a teacher and administrator at Charlotte Latin School. He also volunteered his time at Goodwill Industries, Urban Ministries, Habitat for Humanity and his collegiate alma mater, serving on Wingate’s Board of Visitors (now Alumni Advisory Board).

But his most important acts of service, he says, were channeling his Wingate professors by being a nurturing, compassionate math teacher.

“The constant in my life when I think about service has always been the students that I serve,” says Knull, who has a master’s from Winthrop University. “I have found it a labor of love for over 40 years to provide the help, support and compassion that students often need to grow and learn. Though there is always room for my personal improvement, I believe that one of our greatest community-service goals is fulfilled when we help young people receive an education.

“There is no greater thrill in my career than seeing a young person work hard, ask questions, and strive to be successful in the pursuit of his or her education.”

When he’s not breaking down equations on a whiteboard, Knull enjoys spending time at the lake with family and friends, playing golf or watching sports. He likes to hold court beyond the classroom, too, having performed stand-up comedy at nightclubs and educational conferences.

Knull and his wife, Heather, have two children.

When he first came to Wingate as a teenager who knew minimal English, Junior Nyemb found empathetic professors and coaches who recognized his potential and helped him succeed in college. Now, nearly two decades later, Nyemb runs his own marketing agency, one that has empathy at its core.

Nyemb founded the Grio Agency five years ago and is its chief empathy officer, helping businesses in the Charlotte region find their voice and reach their target audiences. He says that the best part of his job is “playing a small role in helping others bring their vision to life.”

Nyemb, who grew up in Cameroon, came to Wingate on a soccer scholarship. He became an all-conference and all-region player who was inducted into the Wingate Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. He was named Academic All-District three times.

Nyemb worked at the University for several years after graduation – after each graduation, that is. He ultimately received three degrees from Wingate: a bachelor’s in modern languages, an MBA, and a master of arts in sport management.

He uses all three degrees as he leads Grio’s efforts on behalf of small and growing businesses looking to fine-tune their brand strategies. He stays grounded by coaching soccer, meditating and spending time with his wife, Kellen, and their young daughter.

“Empathy starts with self-inquiry and the ability to suspend our judgment to listen to each other,” Nyemb says, “so meditation is a big tool for me.”

Willmarie Austin learned the deep importance of community service at Wingate, and she has gone on to make a career out of serving her community. After six and a half years working for the Girl Scouts, she has spent the past three years with Habitat for Humanity of Cabarrus County, being promoted to director of development in August of 2024.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Austin moved to North Carolina at the age of 16 to attend Wingate. There, she was challenged academically in her communication major, but perhaps more significantly she was challenged to give back to her community.

“My time at Wingate instilled in me the understanding that service is not just an extracurricular activity; it’s a calling,” Austin says. “I didn’t know then just how much Wingate would shape me, not just academically, but personally and spiritually. It was a place of firsts for me: the first place I lived on my own, the first community I built for myself, and the first time I realized that my voice and story mattered.”

While recruiting volunteers for Habitat Cabarrus, Austin enjoys seeing others discover the power of giving back.

“I love creating opportunities for people to feel personally connected to a cause and empowered to make a difference,” she says. “It’s incredibly rewarding to witness individuals take ownership of a mission and see how their involvement helps transform lives.”

In addition to her role at Habitat Cabarrus, Austin serves as an ambassador for the Cabarrus Chamber, where she advocates for local businesses and economic growth. She is also a dedicated speaker with the Mecklenburg County Domestic Violence Speakers Bureau, using her lived experience to educate youth and communities about teen-dating-violence prevention. Austin is also an appointed member of the Cabarrus County Early Childhood Development Committee and a proud member of the Gamma Epsilon Zeta chapter of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority.

In her free time, Austin enjoys reading, volunteering and, most of all, raising her two daughters.

“Wingate became more than a college,” she says. “It became the launching pad for the life I’ve built – one rooted in service, advocacy and resilience.”

Deborah Hildebran-Bachofen has appeared on just about every list of top lawyers in North Carolina during her 37 years as a practicing attorney with Raleigh’s Manning, Fulton & Skinner, P.A. But her greatest professional pleasure comes from simply solving problems for clients.

“I really enjoy having knowledge and experience to help people with some of their legal needs,” she says.

Hildebran-Bachofen is known for her expertise in estate planning and administration, leaning on her associate of arts degree from Wingate and her bachelor of science in business administration and juris doctor degrees from UNC Chapel Hill. She also has a broad range of experience with closely held businesses and has assisted with drafting and negotiating contracts, acquiring and disposing of businesses, and advising on financial matters and transactions.

Hildebran-Bachofen is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and has been consistently recognized in many respected state and national publications. She has been named in The Best Lawyers in America and was selected for inclusion among North Carolina Super Lawyers, including North Carolina’s Top 100 Lawyers and Top 50 Female Lawyers. She has also been recognized in Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite in the areas of tax and estate planning and corporate law.

In 2005 she was the recipient of a Women in Business Award, presented by the Triangle Business Journal, and a Women Extraordinaire Award, presented by Business Leader magazine. She is a board-certified specialist in estate planning and probate law and has lectured for the North Carolina Bar Foundation and the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law.

In addition to serving on several committees over the years for the North Carolina and Wake County bar associations, she has served on the UNC Law School Alumni Board of Directors and received two President’s Awards of Excellence from the Wake County Bar Association.

In the community, Hildebran-Bachofen has served the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Board of Advisors, has chaired the Capital (Raleigh) Region Advisory Board of the Small Business and Technology Development Center, was a trustee of North Raleigh United Methodist Church, and served as a director and the treasurer of the Raleigh Racquet Club. She continues to serve on the Salvation Army of Wake County Board of Advisors.

In her free time, Hildebran-Bachofen enjoys a game of doubles tennis and loves to travel, having visited more than 

60 countries and all seven continents.

Dr. Martha Asti joined the Wingate music faculty in 1979, at the dawn of Wingate’s era as a four-year institution. She would go on to become not only a champion of music students and the music department but a fixture in administration as well.

Asti had 13 different titles during her four decades-plus at Wingate, including chair of the music department and senior vice president of academic affairs. A proponent of student development and international study, she taught 38 different undergraduate courses at Wingate and traveled with students to five continents.

Asti’s commitment to Wingate led her and her husband, Russ, to establish the Martha Secrest Asti Endowed Artist Series in 2016, to provide guest performances on campus and enrich the arts at Wingate University. The most recent performance was by Grammy winner Anthony Dean Griffey ’90, in March of 2025.

At the University of Miami, Asti wrote her Ph.D. dissertation on Christian Gregor, the “father of Moravian music,” and over the years she never lost her love of research. Over the years she conducted research on 18th century music in libraries around the world, including Germany, the Netherlands, France, the UK and Austria.

Asti’s work in the UK resulted in the edited republication of the primary keyboard works of the 18th century harpsichordist and singer Elisabetta de Gambarini. Her expertise in 18th century music has been on display in juried papers and facilitated sessions at state, regional and national conferences.

Asti served as organist/music-staff member at United Methodist churches for 34 years, and she served on the national boards of the American Council on Education and the College Music Society, in addition to several area arts organizations.

At Wingate, she received the Corts Award for Excellence in Teaching and the inaugural Friends of the Library Faculty Award. She retired from Wingate in 2020, serving her last few years as scholar-in-residence.