Two individuals from Wayne Community College were honored with awards from the North Carolina Association of International Educators (NCAIE).
WCC Foundation Coordinator Caleb Mitchell won the organization’s 2026 Professional Newcomer Award. This award is given to someone who is within the first five years of their career at a higher education institution in NC who has demonstrated a significant contribution to the field of international affairs.
WCC student Diamond Simmons received the NCAIE’s Outstanding Student Award. She was honored for being a student at a higher education institution in NC who has demonstrated interest in international education and is working toward enhancing the field.
Mitchell and Simmons were both recommended for their respective awards by Allyson Daly, WCC language and communication department chair and Scholars of Global Distinction liaison. They were recognized as award winners at the NCAIE’s annual state conference held at North Carolina State University.
Mitchell, a WCC alumnus, was a member of WCC’s Scholars of Global Distinction and now serves as one of the program’s advisors. The program is a partnership between the state’s community colleges and UNC World View, preparing students to work effectively across international contexts and industries.
“When Caleb enters a space, people collaborate more easily, opportunities expand, and others begin to imagine themselves as part of something larger,” Daly wrote in her recommendation letter. “For a newcomer still early in his career, his contribution to global learning at Wayne Community College has already been meaningful and visible.”
Simmons is a member of WCC’s Scholars of Global Distinction. When WCC hosted the NCAIE’s 2025 student conference, Simmons joined the student leadership team, where she helped plan the event and even presented at the conference.
“I am so proud of how she has rocket launched into the global education stratosphere, and I am happy to see her when she comes and asks what more she can do,” Daly wrote about Simmons.
About NCAIE
NCAIE is a professional organization of over 600 administrators, educators, and community volunteers, committed to promoting the cause of international education in North Carolina. The mission of NCAIE is to support and enhance the effectiveness of professionals and volunteers who advocate for the education of international students and scholars, and international educational and cultural exchange.
About Wayne Community College
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, the college serves around 10,000 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry, and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 150 college credit programs. WCC’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.