Joshua C. Bonifay was nominated by Marsha Todd Reppert, Lecturer, Health and Applied Human Sciences Department, who said “Joshua was a baseball player here at UNCW and then left to play professional baseball with the Pirates. After a shoulder injury ended his playing time, Joshua returned to UNCW to finish his undergraduate degree. He moved in with his friend and former teammate Mike Foucht. Unfortunately, Mike was involved in a car accident and passed away. Joshua has been very involved with Mike's Memorial Scholarship. My Health 105 class was the first class Joshua took returning to UNCW and although he was somewhat nervous about returning to the classroom, he scored a 100 on every test and had the highest grade in the class. He was very involved with class discussion and an all-round great student to teach.”

Joshua is a 29-year old student majoring in Business Management. He is involved in UNCW baseball and has been on the Dean’s List for five semesters. Joshua says his greatest achievements have been winning two minor league baseball championships for the Pirates and returning to school. Joshua lists one of his primary challenges as a non-traditional student as "technology." He says, "Technology has changed so much. I didn’t have a cell phone in school.  Power Point - I didn’t have a clue what that was.” He also admits, “Classes have been much tougher the second time around,” since he works full-time and has less in common with other students. “My priorities have changed with age,” he says, especially after playing baseball with the Pirates and returning to college eight years later.

Joshua would like to thank Sandy Morrison, his athletic advisor: "She has been a tremendous help,” he says. He also thanks baseball coach Mark Scalf, Charlene L. Ceasar from Finacial Aid and Frances Carr from the Career Center. He also adds, “All of my business professors have been extremely understanding of my circumstances and have helped with the adjustment period,” and he thanks them for being helpful and responsive.

When asked what kind of advice that he would like to share with other non-traditional students, he says, “Talk with your professors constantly about assignments, figure out what they expect, and let them know your situation. The professors will work with you to get you back in the swing of school. Talk with other students in class. Introduce yourself to everyone in class. You have the same goal as younger students. I've actually met some friends and people I will continue to talk with after graduation. Faculty are here to help you graduate and they think it is awesome you've come back to get that piece of paper.”

After Graduation Joshua plans to become a Professional Hitting Instructor with a major league baseball team.