Campus Echo StaffDurham-based Spectacular Magazine is set to announce its 2016 Women and Men of the Year Awards in conjunction with Black History Month.
Kimberley Pierce Cartwright, news director at N.C. Central University’s public radio station, WNCU 90.7 FM is being named Woman of the Year in Education.
Cartwright, who can be heard daily on the radio station, has been at NCCU for 14 years.
She got her start in radio when she was a student at Shaw University in Raleigh. She credits her experience there as a vital foundation.
After completing her education at Shaw University Cartwright went on to earn her master’s degree at The University of Illinois at Springfield.
She says that even though they had limited resources at Shaw, a lot was expected.
Although she grew up in a family of seven children in rural North Carolina, Shaw University allowed her to escape from a town where factory work was the career path.
Cartwright’s professors at Shaw encouraged her to stand tall and conquer the world.
Now she does the same for students at NCCU.
“It’s nice to see the transformation of students under my leadership,” says Cartwright. “My goal is to provide them with the tools needed to be successful in mass communication.”
Before coming to WNCU, Cartwright taught and worked at Elizabeth City State University’s radio station WRVS.
One of her students there is now her colleague at NCCU. Lolethia, “DL” Underdue says that she will always be grateful for the leadership skills and professionalism she learned from Cartwright.
“Kimberley has always been determined, always sets the bar high, and always achieves what she sets out to complete,” says Underdue.
Spectacular Magazine is a tabloid-style monthly publication based in Durham.
They distribute 12,000 papers across seven North Carolina counties and have plans to expand this year.
The paper hit newsstands in November 2004 with the goal of empowering, enlightening and entertaining the African American community.
Founder and publisher Phyllis Coley honors women and men in the community with their yearly awards.
This year, there will be 13 awards in eight categories.
Cartwright will share the award for Woman of the Year in Education with Tomisha Price Brock, Director of University Bands at ECSU.
Cartwright says that she is very excited to receive this honor.
The awards process begins with participants being nominated by someone in the community.
Coley says that they received 34 nominees for the 2016 awards. Then the voting is open online to the public for 21 days.
On the weekend of Feb. 20, the paper will be on newsstands and will have a video to celebrate the winners on its website, and Facebook page.
As for Cartwright, she values continued growth and education. In the next five years, she is hoping to transition into becoming a working artist.
She is currently working on a novel. In her spare time, she enjoys thrift store shopping where she always finds great items and great deals and spending time with her husband of 13 years, Anderson.
Story by Melody Brown-Peyton.
This story first appeared in the Durham VOICE, a community newspaper produced by NCCU and UNC-Chapel Hill journalism students.
