When Noah Brown began his East Carolina University journey in August 2021, he had one expectation.
“I had expected to go in, get my degree and get out,” he said.
Noah Brown was able to share many of his ECU experiences with his grandmother, a member of the 1964 graduating class.
Instead, Brown leaves ECU having left a lasting impact in the College of Business. The marketing major from Apex was involved in the investment club and was a member of the COB Dean’s Student Leadership Council, but he made his biggest mark in the Collegiate DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) chapter.
“I got involved in Collegiate DECA as a sophomore due to a friend’s recommendation,” he said. “I then sought to be involved in something on campus and landed on the opportunities that DECA could provide for myself and others.”
While serving on the club’s executive board and then as president, he helped grow the organization from roughly 15 students to over 50.
“The greatest step I took to growing the organization was by strategically setting up the executive team with leaders who were stronger than me in each of their respective roles,” he said. “Men like William Marriott demonstrated for me what it means to be and build servant leaders.”
The fruit of Brown’s labor was evident at the Collegiate DECA International Career Development Conference in San Francisco earlier this year. He helped procure funding for ECU’s chapter to send 50 students to the event and coached the team, with one student winning first place and two finishing in second place, as well as 13 finalist recognitions and 20 medals.
Brown’s ECU memories were also shared with his grandmother, Sue Brown ’64.
“My grandmother was a huge supporter of me attending ECU,” Brown said. “Sharing my ECU experience with her has been a joy. Many of the same locations she visited in her time at ECTC are some that I frequent as well. When I was recognized in StockNotes (COB magazine), she was the first one I called.”
Brown has already begun his postgraduate job, serving as chief of staff for ECU Board of Trustee member Rich Balot. With the end of his undergraduate student days in sight, Brown’s ECU experience defied the initial expectation.
“I look back on transformational growth and finding my purpose. Both have been far more valuable than just my degree alone,” he said.
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