Royal Weekend | Celebrate Homecoming and Reunion Weekend together at Royal Weekend! Registration is now open. If your class year ends in a 0 or 5, we’ve got a great class party planned for you! Check out the schedule.
Giving Tuesday | Inspired by the season of generosity, we celebrated Giving Tuesday by honoring all of the ways Queens alumni serve their communities. And, together, we raised more than $70,000 from over 200 donors for current Queens students! Thank you to everyone who contributed.
Queens University Charlotte BusinessWoman of the Year
Queens University of Charlotte is pleased to name Kristi Coleman, chief executive officer of Tepper Sports & Entertainment (TSE) and president of the Carolina Panthers, as the 2024 Queens University Charlotte BusinessWoman of the Year. Now in its 39th year, Queens celebrates female leaders who have made significant contributions to the Charlotte region through outstanding leadership and achievement.
A trailblazer in professional sports, Coleman was named CEO of Tepper Sports & Entertainment this month, overseeing all business operations for TSE including the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Football Club and Bank of America Stadium. Coleman also serves as President of the Carolina Panthers, a role she has held since February 2022, becoming only the second-ever female president in NFL history. In addition to other roles in the community, Coleman is a member of the Queens Boards of Trustees. Get the story.
“Queens is a place of community, where we support and help each other grow.”
When Jessica Garcia Lopez ’23 came to Queens, she was the recipient of the Golden Door Scholarship and an academic scholarship from Queens that, together, covered the entire cost of her tuition. She said, ” Having these scholarships helped me finish my degree within the 4-year timeline and become the first in my family to pursue a higher education in the U.S.”
During her senior year, Jessica embarked on a capstone project that would bring her closer to her family’s past than she could have ever imagined. “I was struggling to find the perfect topic,” she recalls. “But then I realized that the perfect topic was right in front of me—my family’s dialect.” Jessica’s great-grandmother was one of the last fluent speakers of the dialect in her family, and her capstone became an exploration of this language, passed down through generations but now lost.
“I learned more about my great-grandmother and my grandmother’s upbringing than I ever thought possible,” Jessica shares. Through interviews with family members, she pieced together stories of how the dialect shaped their lives. Sadly, her great-grandmother passed away in June 2024 at the age of 95, not long after Jessica completed her project. “Even though I didn’t have a deep connection with her due to the language barrier, I’m grateful for the interviews and the chance to honor our family’s history,” she says.
As much as her past drives her, Jessica’s focus now lies squarely on her future in healthcare. She works with Atrium Health in Trauma and Acute Care Clinical Research, leading a medical device study. “It’s a challenging study,” she admits. “As lead coordinator, I have to be in constant communication with doctors, sponsor staff, nurses, respiratory therapists, and my team. Despite the complexity of the study design, it’s worth every minute of my time because I know I’m making a difference in the patient’s clinical progress.”
In addition to the medical device study, Jessica also wrapped up work on a drug study and is currently part of a physician-led trial focused on setting a standard for the amount of antibiotics to give a patient after an appendectomy. Their goal is to reduce the number of adverse effects related to antibiotics and reduce antibiotic resistance. “My favorite part is working closely with the only Latino trauma physician at Atrium,” she says. “I’ve learned so much from him, and he’s been incredibly supportive.”
The foundation Jessica built at Queens has allowed her to succeed post-graduation. “The advantage of a Queens education is the small class size and the proximity to the professors.” She was able to build personal relationships with her professors that helped with classwork, securing pivotal internships, and taking her next steps.
What’s next for Jessica?
Medical school. She’s taking advantage of this gap year to strengthen her application. With her GPA, clinical experience, extracurriculars, and unique experience as a bilingual Latina, Jessica plans to apply in the 2025 cycle, hoping to begin her medical studies in the fall of 2026. “I keep reminding myself that the journey is worth it,” she reflects. “Every challenge, every setback—it’s all part of something bigger.” With her determination and passion, it’s clear that she’s not just chasing a dream—she’s building a future.
Jessica also recently visited Queens to talk with students about her path.
A Royal Gift Guide
If you’re still looking for that perfect gift for the Royal in your life, let us help you!
Whether you’re choosing to give the gift of giving, want to take advantage of 2024 tax savings, or live the motto through your philanthropy, consider a donation to Queens for your year-end giving.
Gifts can be made in honor or memory of a loved one, professor, or friend; recipients or their families will receive a letter notifying them of your generosity. This is a great way to celebrate holidays, milestones, and birthdays or to let the faculty who inspired you as a student know you still appreciate their impact on you. It’s also a great thing to put on your own holiday wish list!
As we approach the end of the year, please remember the following deadlines to receive credit for the 2024 tax year.
Online gifts must be made by 11:59 p.m. ET on December 31, 2024
Gifts sent via mail must be postmarked by Tuesday, December 31, 2024
In-person gifts or over-the-phone gifts should be made by Friday, December 20, 2024, or special arrangements can be made by contacting Aimee Miller at millera3@queens.edu or 704-337-2505.
Gifts from investments, including stocks or distributions, should be coordinated through your financial advisor to ensure timely arrival.
When you support the Queens Fund or other campus programs, you provide opportunities for students, access to education, and global experiences. Queens alumni touch every corner of Charlotte and beyond, leaving a legacy of service to others. Thank you for supporting Queens in 2024!
2nd Place Champs
Congratulations to our Men’s Rugby team for an incredible 2nd place finish in the National Collegiate Rugby DI Championship!
Brown University won 23-20. This was the Royals’ third Final Four appearance in DI. They also made two Final Four appearances in D2 and won a D2 national championship. That’s a lot for a team that only started in 2017!
Coach Frank McKinney said, “I am very proud of the team for finishing 2nd in the National College Rugby championship.”
President Dan Lugo will depart at the end of the academic year. He said, “These past five and a half years at Queens have been a true blessing for me and my family. Together, we have tackled significant challenges, created many new and promising programs and opportunities, and have worked tirelessly to ensure that every Queens student has a world-class learning experience.” We thank President Lugo for all he’s done for Queens! He will be President at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.
Jazzie Lee ’27 recently received the Community Impact Student Award for exceptional leadership and service from North Carolina Campus Engagement, a statewide network of colleges and universities committed to preparing students for civic and social responsibility. Read the story.
Maggie Dineen ’25 took an immigration class as a sophomore that ignited a fire within her, inspiring her to champion the cause of migrant rights. She then participated in the border immersion trip to El Paso, Texas and went on to receive a Projects for Peace grant that allowed her to focus on the voice of migrants. Get the story.
Rex’s Corner
Men’s Lacrosse earned the Royals Service Award for November! 42 of the 59 teammates logged a total of 85 hours of validated community service. Many of the student-athletes participated in a Light the Night event organized by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The team also partnered with the American Heart Association.
