News

Three Johnson C. Smith University graduates working at Microsoft are paying it forward to current STEM students. Aisha Davis ’13, Bernard Smith ’17 and Darnell Harris ‘11 started a virtual seminar for students to increase the number of JCSU graduates Microsoft hires.

Two recent graduates are excelling in their new roles with American Airlines. Winstongabriel Douglas ‘20 and Zabdiel Escanola Gonzalez ‘20 started with the company in June, just one month after graduation.

Tymier Farrar ‘21 is just two semesters away from graduation, but the business administration major is already getting professional experience for his future career as an entrepreneur. This summer he interned in the business law and customer relation sectors with Brighthouse Financial.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced life to change for so many of us. Despite the additional stresses the pandemic has had on our lives, many people have been able to unite for good causes, including our alumni who have donated to the Johnson C. Smith University in many ways. Most recently, by offering words of advice to current students.

Anika Cobb ’13 was recently hired as the director of marketing and communications at Allen University.

Upon graduating from Johnson C. Smith University in 1994, Dr. Regina Boyd ‘94, a three-year generation alumna, began working in the CMS system as a kindergarten teacher at Collinswood Elementary School. After teaching at Collinswood, she became part of the leadership team and assisted with the establishment of Collinswood Dual Language Academy.

Over the last several years, craft breweries have been one of the top trending businesses in the food and drink industry. For millennials, they serve as a new location to socialize, but like many industries, there’s a lack of diversity when it comes to the owners of these establishments. David McMullin Jr. ’12 is hoping to change that. The alumnus was recently mentioned in a Forbes article for his business, Mack Brewing Co.

Five years after the massacre at Emanuel AME Church, in Charleston, South Carolina, Johnson C. Smith University alumnus and Charlotte City Council member Malcolm Graham ‘85 is honoring all of the victims, especially his sister, Cynthia Graham Hurd.

Gracyn Doctor ‘16 was enjoying the summer before beginning her senior year at JCSU when bullets from the white supremacist’s gun changed her life forever. Doctor’s mother, Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor, was one of the nine parishioners killed in the massacre at Emanuel AME Church.

Many Johnson C. Smith University alumni are working to make a difference during the COVID-19 pandemic, including Charlotte City councilman Malcolm Graham ’85, who serves District 2. Graham is the chair of Charlotte’s COVID-19 Housing Task Force, which provides relief for rent and mortgages, in addition to assisting the city’s homeless population.