On Saturday, Oct. 10, six members of the Elon community were recognized for their service and dedication at an awards ceremony during Homecoming & Reunion Weekend 2026.
Six outstanding individuals were honored by the Elon Black Alumni Network on Saturday, Oct. 10 for their service and dedication to the university and the Black community at a ceremony in Snow Family Grand Atrium.
The Homecoming & Reunion Weekend awards event, featuring a live jazz band, full buffet breakfast and mimosa bar, honored Michelle Stephens, Cheyenne Pinkston G ’25, Monty Bumper ’97, Nicole C. Wright ’03, Janay Tyson ’19 and Derrick Luster ’20.
“There is no better way to celebrate the strength of our community than by recognizing the people who continue to show up, lead with purpose, and make an impact far beyond themselves,” shared associate vice president of EBAN’s Enrichment and Engagement committee Ruby Bracy ’99. “The EBAN Awards give us an opportunity to pause and celebrate alumni, faculty, staff, and students who embody the values that make our community so powerful.”
The purpose of the Elon Black Alumni Network is to build, maintain and sustain collaborative relationships with Black alumni through social events, networking and philanthropic purposes impacting current and future Elon students.
Award Recipients
Michelle Stephens 
K. Wilhelmina Boyd Outstanding Service to Students Award
Michelle Stephens retired from Elon University in December 2025 after 30 years of dedicated service as a member of the university’s Environmental Services team. Throughout her career, Stephens approached her work with a simple but deeply held belief: every student, faculty and staff member, family and visitor deserves to experience Elon at its very best. Over three decades, she watched generations of students arrive on campus, grow into young adults, and walk across the stage at Commencement. She formed lasting relationships with students, colleagues, faculty, and staff, many of whom came to know and love her as an important part of the Elon community.
Stephens’ own educational journey has been different from those of many of the students she served. Although reading and writing have presented significant challenges throughout her life, she has always possessed gifts that cannot be measured on a transcript: an extraordinary work ethic, attention to detail, perseverance, compassion, and genuine love for people. Among Stephens’ greatest rewards were the simple moments when students stopped to notice her work, speak with her, or say, “Thank you.” To her, those expressions of appreciation meant more than any paycheck or credential ever could.
Cheyenne G. Pinkston G’25 
K. Wilhelmina Boyd Outstanding Service to Students Award
Cheyenne Pinkston is the assistant director of presidential stewardship at Elon and a dedicated advisor and advocate for Elon’s Renaissance Scholars. Since the program’s inception, Pinkston has been committed to ensuring Renaissance Scholars have a culturally rich, historically meaningful and transformative Elon experience. Through intentional mentorship and relationship-building, she has become a central source of support, encouragement, and community for program participants.
In her stewardship role, Pinkston supports engagement with presidential and principal-gift donors through personalized communications, recognition, and experiences that demonstrate the impact of philanthropy and strengthen donors’ connections to Elon. Across both roles, she is passionate about creating experiences that help people feel seen, supported, empowered, and connected to something larger than themselves.
Monty L. Bumper ’97, P’24 
Eugene Perry ’69 Distinguished Alumni Award
Monty Bumper has dedicated his career to educating, mentoring and creating opportunities for young people. A former member of the Elon University men’s basketball program, Bumper now serves as a special education teacher and director of football operations at Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia. In addition to his work in the classroom, he plays an integral role in supporting student-athletes through the college recruitment process, helping them stay academically prepared and meet the grade and testing requirements necessary to pursue opportunities at the next level. Bumper is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, where his commitment to mentorship, leadership, and community service continues.
Elon remains an important part of his family’s story. Monty and his wife, Maria Quinones Bumper ’95, are the proud parents of three sons, and their youngest, Julian ’24, followed in their footsteps by attending Elon. That generational connection reflects what Bumper values most about his alma mater: relationships, opportunity, community, and a lasting sense of belonging.
Nicole C. Wright ’03
Gail Fonville Parker ’70 Distinguished Alumna Award
Nicole C. Wright earned a Bachelor of Science from Elon in 2003, and both her Master of Public Health in 2005 and Doctorate of Philosophy in Epidemiology in 2010 from the University of Arizona. She is currently an associate professor of Medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine and director of education for the School’s Center for Health Outcomes, Implementation, and Community-Engaged Science, where her research focuses on musculoskeletal aging epidemiology, including osteoporosis outcomes research, and racial disparities in osteoporosis and its management.
Wright is also a nationally recognized leader in osteoporosis epidemiology and has reached fellow status in the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. She has been an investigator on numerous federal and industry-supported research projects and has held many leadership roles, including a Board of Trustees member of the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation. Wright has mentored many students and junior faculty and is dedicated to increasing the presence of women and Black researchers in bone health. In 2024, she was awarded the UAB Graduate Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentorship.
Janay Tyson ’19 
Outstanding Young Alumna Award
Originally from Raleigh, North Carolina, Janay Tyson was an active student leader on Elon’s campus, holding positions in the CREDE, residence life, the President’s Student Leadership Advisory Council, School of Communications, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, among others. After graduating, Tyson immediately moved to New York City and launched her career through Verizon’s competitive AdFellows program. Later, after honing her craft at top agencies, she pivoted to her true passion: experiential marketing.
Today, Tyson is an account supervisor at Team Epiphany, one of the top-rated multicultural marketing agencies in the US, where she oversees large-scale brand activations, influencer campaigns and content shoots across the consumer-packaged goods, nonprofit, fintech and entertainment sectors. In 2024, Tyson founded Curated Conversations, a collective that forges intentional partnerships with local businesses across Brooklyn and beyond to produce events and social experiences for 20- to 40-somethings looking to find their tribe and connect with their neighborhood. With more than 20 brand sponsorships and moe than 10 events already under her belt, Tyson is just getting started and is excited for what the future holds.
Derrick Luster ’20 
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award
Derrick Luster graduated from Elon in 2020 with a degree in political science and minors in sociology and African & African American studies. During his time at Elon, Luster served as president of the Black Student Union and as a Student Representative on the Elon Strategic Planning Committee. He was also an Elon College Fellow and a member of the Nu Theta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated.
Luster attended the UCLA School of Law and graduated in 2023 with concentrations in critical race studies and public interest law & policy. Throughout law school, Luster committed his free time and summers to civil rights organizations supporting litigation on behalf of victims of police misconduct, protesters from the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, and students experiencing racial and disability-based discrimination. He currently serves as the director of racial justice advocacy for the national prisoners’ rights nonprofit, Rights Behind Bars, where he litigates cases in federal courts across the country on behalf of prisoners whose constitutional and civil rights have been violated. Prior to joining Rights Behind Bars, Luster worked for a law firm representing survivors of childhood sexual abuse and employees who experienced retaliation and discrimination on the basis of their disabilities, gender, and race.
Also recognized during the program were members of the Sigma Delta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., celebrating their 35th reunion; the Omicron Iota Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., celebrating their 45th reunion; and the Nu Theta Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., celebrating their 40th reunion. Together, these organizations raised a total of $7,506.96 in support of the Black Alumni Scholarship between March 5, (Elon Day 2026) and Oct. 5, with committee leads Kennedy Ojimadu of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Lynne Daniels of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and Alfred White of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., presenting the amounts each chapter raised.