Bessie Wilson graduated in May 2018 with a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations, and triple minored in Spanish, Marketing & Journalism. She was also a student in the Honors Program. Currently, she is the Digital Marketing Specialist at Waccamaw Publishers/My Horry News. She states, "I work for an amazing company with great co-workers. I'm extremely blessed to have been offered this job right out of college. I was very lucky to get offered a job in my field straight out of college. I think I graduated on a Friday and I started working a week later. Naturally, I was nervous to begin working "in the real world," but the classes I took while attending CCU successfully prepared me for my future. I did not do an internship while I was at CCU for undergrad. However, I utilized Career Services when they held their LinkedIn seminars and Resume workshops. Both of which were super helpful! I love being able to apply what I learned in college every day at work. I feel like sometimes, while in college, students think, "when am I ever going to use this in the real world?" Trust me you'll use the skills and lessons that you learn throughout school in your career, so listen to your professors!" Bessie made sure to utilize the resources available to her at the CCU Career Services Center. She has this to say to current students and graduates, "Career Services offers amazing resources for students that are about to make the transition from college to the real world. They are there to help and assist in any way possible. My advice to current CCU students would be to make connections and network. Make connections with your professors. They are there to help you and teach you. All of the professors live locally so more than likely have connections within the community that could lead to a possible job or internship. I would also suggest going to the career fair. That's how I found my job. The career fair is an opportunity to hand out resumes and do an impromptu interview. My last piece of advice would be to not settle. Don't settle on the first job offer you receive. Keep your options open and accept a job that you want and that you'll enjoy doing. If I accepted my first job offer, I would not be working at a great company that I'm with now."

James Koch, a 2015 Coastal Carolina University BSBA graduate in Management, recognized real career potential when he met Patrick Quilter, the founder of a small but growing technology company in Myrtle Beach called Quilmont Solutions. Now, several years and an acquisition later, he is making sure to share that career potential with over a dozen CCU interns and graduates with FogChain, a fully integrated, end-to-end software development life cycle (SDLC) and quality assurance solutions provider. The latest "CCU to FogChain" career success story comes from Kiley Lamagdeleine, a 2020 May BSBA in Marketing graduate and former FogChain marketing intern who is now working as a full-time marketing professional for the company. "I posted the internship position on CCU Handshake, and she applied within the first 10 minutes", Koch said. Lamagdeleine was actively looking for an internship to get marketing experience, and she immediately applied as soon as she saw the posting. "I got the internship position and had a great experience. Now, in my full-time role, I do a lot of social media marketing and content development-things I really enjoy", Lamagdeleine explained. Thanks to Koch's efforts to stay connected with the Coastal Carolina University Career Services office through Handshake, career fairs, career center networking events and social media, FogChain (and Quilmont Solutions) have hired over a dozen interns/staff over the years. He predicts that with the growth in the technology industry and the increasing need for cloud based business solutions, Fogchain's hiring needs will continue to grow with opportunities for a wide variety of majors. As the latest link in the CCU FogChain legacy, Lamagdeleine expressed her gratitude and excitement for her new role as a full-time professional. "I am so happy and grateful for the chance to work from home and be a part of this company. I know a lot of recent grads who are facing a lot of uncertainty", she said. Koch and Lamagdeleine offered some advice for current Coastal students and recent graduates as well. "Be open to possibilities-I never imagined that I would work in the technology industry, but I love it!", Lamadeleine offered. "Get internship experience, and don't overlook remote work options, especially now", Koch said. Finally, they both recommended using resources like CCU Handshake and getting Career Services office help with resumes and other internship and job search issues. CCU Career Services are free to all CCU students and alumni. Online resources, events and details on how to make an appointment can be found at www.coastal.edu/career .

Isaiah Davis has been elected the first Afro-Latino president of the Coastal Carolina Colony of the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity. He is an intelligence and national securities studies pre-major at Coastal Carolina University.

More than 1,100 students earned a spot on the President's List for the Spring 2020 semester at Coastal Carolina University.

More than 2,300 undergraduate students at Coastal Carolina University were named to the Dean's List for the Spring 2020 semester.

Two students from Coastal Carolina University have distinguished themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic as Public Health Reserve Corps volunteers and staff. Haley Rissell, majoring in public health, began as a volunteer, then took a temporary position with SC DHEC to coordinate volunteer recruitment and placement for drive-through testing events. Lauryn Johnson, a biology major, has worked as a volunteer from dawn to dusk during many drive-through events. She has been on-site at venues as thousands of people streamed through to get the swab test for COVID-19.

Stephanie Henning was awarded the Marketing Student of the Year award at Coastal Carolina University for the 2019-2020 academic school year.

Ja'Quan Beckett was awarded the Management Student of the Year award at Coastal Carolina University for the 2019-2020 academic school year.

Coastal Carolina University saw nearly 1,300 students graduate in Spring 2020 during a virtual ceremony that included a speech from alumnus and Emmy-nominated actor Michael Kelly.

Lauren Clements was awarded the Hospitality, Resort, and Tourism Management Student of the Year award for the 2019-2020 academic year at Coastal Carolina University.

Michael Stearns, an accounting major in the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration at Coastal Carolina University, was selected as the Accounting Student of the Year for the 2019-2020 academic year.

Andrew Jones was awarded the Economics Student of the Year award for the 2019-2020 academic school year at Coastal Carolina University. Jones is currently working with a program called Python, a general-purpose programming language which helps him gather statistics to observe trends around Division I collegiate athletics. He is a brother of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity and is pursuing his goal of working in investment real estate.

Sunneva "Sunny" Sigurvinsdottir was awarded the Finance Student of the Year award at Coastal Carolina University for the 2019-2020 academic year. Awards are given at the end of each academic year to students in each major who are exemplary role models for the program or department as determined by a committee of faculty and administrators.

Brianna Fleming was awarded the PGA Golf Management WORKS scholarship for the 2020-2021 academic year by the PGA REACH Program. The PGA WORKS initiative is designed to evolve the demographic composition of the golf industry's workforce and the PGA of America's Membership. Scholarship recipients will pursue full-time undergraduate studies at one of the 18 accredited PGA Golf Management universities during the 2020-2021 academic year, with the ultimate goal of obtaining PGA Membership.

Coastal Carolina University announced the winners of the 2020 Student Involvement and Leadership Awards in a recorded celebration of the annual awards ceremony. The event recognizes individuals students, student organizations, Greek life groups, and others for a variety of achievements, including community service, philanthropy, and impact.

The Coastal Carolina University Wind Ensemble presented the "Well-Aged" music performance on March 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Wheelwright Auditorium on CCU's campus. The program included Ten Masterworks for Woodwind Choir, arranged by William Pelz; "Finlandia," by Jean Sibelius; "Old Wine in New Bottles," by Gordon Jacob; "Invictus" by Karl King; "Savannah River Holiday by Ron Nelson; and "First Suite in E Flat" by Gustav Holtz.

The Department of Theatre at Coastal Carolina University presented "Legally Blond The Musical," directed by Jason Gillman, an original Broadway cast member. The performances ran for two weeks at the end of February in the Wheelwright auditorium on CCU's campus. Based on the Hollywood film, the story follows Elle, a sorority-girl-turned-Harvard-law-student, in pursuit of winning back her ex-boyfriend, Warner. As she tackles stereotypes and scandal in school and the courtroom, Elle must successfully defend exercise queen Brooke Wyndham in the murder trial of her life.

More than 700 students were eligible to participate in commencement ceremonies at Coastal Carolina University on Dec. 17, 2019, marking the last class of the decade to graduate from CCU. Ron Daise, vice president for creative education at Brookgreen Gardens, was the special speaker during the two commencement cerimonies. Daise used messages from Nick Jr.'s award-winning and internationally broadcasted television program "Gullah Gullah Island" to inspire and motivate the graduates and to remind them that this is only the beginning of their lifelong quest for knowledge. "Realize this day marks only the beginning of continued education. You have not yet reached the pinnacles of understanding, self-awareness, or wisdom. As said by Albert Einstein, 'intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.' Stay hungry for knowledge," said Daise. Daise is known by many as "Mr. Ron" on Nick Jr.'s award-winning and internationally broadcasted television program, "Gullah Gullah Island," for which he and his wife Natalie performed in starring roles. They also served as cultural consultants on the program. For more than 30 years, Daise has promoted awareness of Gullah Geechee culture and history. A cultural preservationist, performing artist, and educator, he has developed and presented stories, songs, and lectures about history, culture, and faith at museums, theaters, conferences, churches, and educational institutions across the country.

More than 2,400 Coastal Carolina University students were named to the Dean's List for the Fall 2019 semester. That's nearly 20 percent of the student body with a grade point average between 3.5-3.99 for the spring semester. An additional 802 students were named to the President's List for achieving a 4.0 GPA during the spring semester.

Forty-three CCU students volunteered at the 10th annual Women's Leadership Conference and Celebration of Inspiring Women. The event was hosted by Women in Philanthropy and Leadership for Coastal Carolina University and took place on Feb. 10, 2020, at the Sheraton Myrtle Beach Conference Center.

More than 800 Coastal Carolina University students were named to the President's List for the Fall 2019 semester. To be named to the President's List, students must achieve a 4.0 grade point average (GPA) for the semester. CCU has a student body of more than 10,000 and nearly 2,500 students were also named to the Dean's List for the fall semester. This means more than 23 percent of the student body earned recognition on either the Dean's List or the President's List.

On Oct. 5 at the Myrtle Beach International Airport, eight Coastal Carolina University students, all intelligence and national securities studies majors, took part in an exercise that simulated an airline crash and involved multiple city and county municipalities. The simulation takes place every three years and involves the Myrtle Beach Police Department, the Horry County Fire and Rescue, Horry County Emergency Management, Horry County Police Department, and Myrtle Beach Airport Fire and Rescue.

Hannah Elizabeth Persic is one of nine college students presented with the South Carolina Governor's Tourism Student Award during a ceremony at the Lace House in Columbia in October. The students were recognized for outstanding academic achievement in culinary, hospitality, and tourism studies.

The Wall Fellows program at Coastal Carolina University inducted nine new members on Nov. 1, 2019, at its annual induction ceremony. This year, the Wall Fellows are celebrating the 25th year of its inception.

Max McQuaide of Tyngsborough, Mass., and Grant Tattersall, of Conway, S.C., won the YETI FLW College Fishing tournament at Lake Hartwell presented by Costa with a five-bass limit weighing 13 pounds, 11 ounces. This tournament took place Nov. 1 on Lake Hartwell on the South Carolina-Georgia border. McQuaide and Tattersall represented Coastal Carolina University and won the tournement by catching five bass weighing nearly 14 pounds. The duo won $2,000 in prize money and earned a spot in the 2020 FLW College Fishing National Championship.

The Department of Theatre at Coastal Carolina University will be presenting "The Crucible," directed by John Woodson, starting on Friday, Nov. 9, in the Edwards Theatre. This is a student-led performance and will transport the audience to the Puritan world of 1692 Massachusetts, where Abigail Williams and her cohort of girlfriends lead a Puritanical assault against a local farmer and his wife. In this production, jealousy and seething resentments pit neighbor against neighbor as a community is thrown into turmoil while accusations of witchcraft stain the people in paranoia. Two dozen students have been cast in the play.

Forty Coastal Carolina University students have been accepted into Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) theatre program at Coastal this fall. The four-year course of study is highly competitive and recruits high school students from across the country. The BFA program is competitive and by audition only, and it is divided into four concentrations: musical theatre; design and production; acting; and physical theatre. The acting program is for students who are willing to commit to structured, intensive, studio-based training and are searching to become a part of a company of actors, singers, designers, directors and technicians. The design and technology degree prepares students for professional careers as designers, technical directors, costume directors and technicians in professional entertainment or for continued study in graduate school. The musical theatre program is intended for students who are willing to commit to structured, intensive, studio-based training and are searching for a degree that prepares them to function in the professional theatre as actor-singers.

Coastal Carolina University has welcomed 16 students into the 2019 cohort of Teaching Fellows. The South Carolina Teaching Fellows Program gives scholarships to eligible South Carolina high school students who are pursuing a degree in education and a career in South Carolina's public schools following graduation.

Seven Coastal Carolina University students were selected as scholars for the Jackson Family Center for Ethics and Values. The Jackson Center aims to cultivate ethical awareness within the University and surrounding community. The scholars will take part in the program through 2021. The leadership program lasts two years and assists students in developing a strong foundation for ethics and a clear awareness for their own values. The program began in 2004 and is open to students of all majors. Scholars take a variety of philosophy and leadership courses throughout the program and participate in campus and community events, including an ethics academy for middle schoolers and an intercollegiate ethics bowl. Visit coastal.edu/jacksoncenter.

The CCU Department of Theatre presents "Bright Star" Thursday, Oct. 10, to Friday, Oct. 11, at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 13, 3 p.m., and Wednesday, Oct. 16, to Saturday, Oct. 19, 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. "Bright Star" is a new work with a country and bluegrass score from Academy Award-winner Steve Martin and Grammy-winner Edie Brickell. "Bright Star" tells a sweeping tale of love and redemption set against the backdrop of the American South in the 1920s and '40s, directed by Adam Pelty, associate chair and assistant professor in the Department of Theatre.