University of Mount Olive Fall Graduation set for December 13th
University of Mount Olive Fall Graduation set for December 13th
MOUNT OLIVE – The University of Mount Olive will graduate nearly 300 students on Saturday, December 13. Of those graduating will be a dozen MBA graduates, the first for the University. Graduation exercises are scheduled for 2 PM in the George and Annie Dail Kornegay Arena. Baccalaureate is scheduled for 10: 30 AM in the Southern Bank Auditorium located in Raper Hall.
University of Mount Olive alumnus John Gainey will be the commencement speaker. Gainey grew up in Craven County where his father worked in the education system, which influenced Gainey at a young age the importance and necessity of receiving the best education available. Gainey was a 1983 Graduate of Havelock High School, and in August of that year, he enrolled at Mount Olive College (now The University of Mount Olive). He received his bachelor of science degree in business administration from Mount Olive College in May 1987 and began working that summer in the insurance industry where he spent the next eleven and a half years as an insurance agent.
In January of 2000, Gainey began a new career in education. He started as a substitute teacher for Pitt County Schools, and shortly afterwards he accepted a position at Pamlico County High School where he operated as well as taught in the Alternative Program. In addition to his instructional duties, he served as the head junior varsity baseball coach. In June 2001, Gainey returned to Pitt County where he began teaching Drivers Education for North Carolina Driving School at J.H. Rose High School and later Farmville Central High School. At Rose, he also assisted with the ninth grade football team and at Farmville; he was the head junior varsity baseball coach.
In 2003, Gainey began operating an Alternative Program for at-risk students at C.M. Eppes Middle School, but in the summer of 2004, he once again found himself back at J.H. Rose High School teaching Drivers Education and substitute teaching three days a week. He has remained at Rose since then, and though he is no longer coaching, Gainey still remains active in his support for J.H. Rose Athletics.
Gainey resides in Winterville with his wife of 14 years, Sandra, and their daughter, Sydney. He is a member of The Memorial Baptist Church in Greenville, where he serves as an usher and will begin a four year term on the Congregational Care Committee in January 2015.
Sam Weeks will be the baccalaureate speaker. Throughout his career, Weeks has worked as the pastor of Smithfield First OFWB Church, worked as the executive director of FWB Children’s Home in Middlesex, and taught at West Carteret High School in Morehead City.
Weeks earned his B.A. degree from Eastern Carolina University in 1977 and his M.A. degree from North Carolina State University in 1992. Weeks also received his doctorate in theology from Covington Theological Seminary in 1997. He is married to Georgia Weeks, and they have six children.
The University of Mount Olive is a private institution rooted in the liberal arts tradition with defining Christian values. The University, sponsored by the Convention of Original Free Will Baptists, has locations in Mount Olive, New Bern, Wilmington, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Research Triangle Park, Washington, Jacksonville, and in Smithfield at Johnston Community College. For more information, visit www.umo.edu.