news-category: Alumni Celebrating Alumni – Shamanda Burston Chosen to Lead Program for Behavioral Health Charlotte By Office of University Communications On September 18, 2023 GWU Alumna and Adjunct Coordinates Enhanced Outpatient Treatment BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—Students are the focus of Gardner-Webb University’s mission. Faculty members seek to engage students with unique, experiential learning opportunities to prepare them for their next steps as GWU alumni. Whether they choose to begin a career or accept the academic challenges of graduate school, they are equipped with knowledge and skills to lead, and inspired to serve and impact their communities. Shamanda Burston (Photo credit: Nastassja Epps) Gardner-Webb celebrates alumni who are making a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Shamanda Burston, a 2014 alumna of Gardner-Webb’s Master of Arts in clinical mental health counseling program, is a psychotherapist at Atrium Health. She was promoted to new program coordinator in the enhanced outpatient treatment program at Atrium’s Behavioral Health Charlotte. Burston also earned her bachelor’s degree in human services from GWU in 2012. She serves as an adjunct professor in the Gardner-Webb School of Psychological Science and Counselor Education. She is a licensed clinical mental health counselor, licensed clinical addictions specialist, author, and the CEO of LuLu B. Productions LLC., a production company specializing in cinema-therapy-focused content. Burston is a third-year doctoral student in the counselor education and supervision program at Walden University in Minneapolis, Minn. Her research interests are cinema therapy, trauma, and decreasing counseling stigma for Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) populations. Stay connected Gardner-Webb’s faculty and staff are eager to hear about and celebrate alumni news and success. There are three ways to share your story with us: Contact a faculty member. Touch base with Alumni Relations. Submit a class note here. Gardner-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.
News Article Gardner-Webb’s American Sign Language Program First in North Carolina For More Than Four Decades, GWU Graduates, Like the Team of Educators at Central Piedmont, Have Pursued Careers to Serve the Deaf and Hard of Hearing BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—As the first college in North Carolina to offer a Bachelor of Arts program in American Sign Language (ASL), Gardner-Webb University is an established leader in the […] Office of University Communications | February 7, 2025
News Article Gardner-Webb University, Cleveland Community College and Cleveland County Schools Receive Over $1.2 Million from the Golden LEAF Foundation Funding Creates Healthcare Education Pathway to Address Regional Health Workforce Shortages BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—The Golden LEAF Foundation announced Feb. 6 that Gardner-Webb University and community partners, Cleveland Community College (CCC) and Cleveland County Schools, have been awarded funding through the Community-Based Grants Initiative totaling over $1.2 million to create a Healthcare Educational Pathway. Leaders from […] Office of University Communications | February 7, 2025
News Article A Seat at the Table: Gardner-Webb Alumnus Keon Williams Jr. Opens Restaurant with a Mission ‘The Sole Purpose of Tacos4life is to End Starvation Around the World’ BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—After a decade of helping his bank customers invest their money, Keon Williams Jr. decided it was time to pursue his entrepreneurial dream. The 2014 alumnus of Gardner-Webb University recently hosted the grand opening of his new restaurant, Tacos4Life, in Charlotte, […] Office of University Communications | February 4, 2025