Black Pioneers
Of his role in partnership with his alma mater, Laymon has said: “For more than 50 years, I have truly enjoyed participating in and making a positive impact on diversity at UNH — a never-ending journey.”
Edward J. Freeman ’73
“I must continue to break barriers, to open doors that were never opened before and to focus on issues of equity, equality, access and inclusion that have profound societal benefits,” he says.
After graduating from UNH with a degree in family and consumer studies, Freeman spent eight years as an elementary school teacher in Lynn, Massachusetts. He broke barriers when he became the first man hired to teach a grade lower than fourth grade in the history of that city’s public schools.
Freeman left teaching to work in the energy industry, starting out as a lineman before moving into sales positions for the Massachusetts Electric Company and, later, management for National Grid.
“My experiences at UNH allowed me to progress, interact and flourish with a large and diverse population,” says Freeman. “The years at UNH gave me the encouragement, strength, fortitude and tenacity to navigate in this ever-changing world.”
He reflects on how far he had to come from a wood-heated, three-room house with no indoor plumbing in rural North Carolina amid the indignities of Jim Crow, but adds, “I am fortunate to have lived this life, which has been made beautiful by the great opportunities afforded to me along the way.”
His favorite UNH memories include dorm life in Stoke, his friends in the Black Student Union, playing intramural sports and, of course, the chance to enjoy the New England outdoors. He learned to ski at Killington, hiked winters and summers in the White Mountains and skated on the frozen Lamprey River. “I remember sledding on the hills abutting Great Bay in Newmarket on trays borrowed from Stillings Dining Hall, late-night snacks from Fritz and his food truck and singing Christmas carols with Charlie Leocha ’72 and the Stoke 6 gang outside of the dorms near Stoke Hall,” he says. “These experiences opened me to a world of possibilities.”
Baron Flenory ’05
“This experience has made me comfortable in any room I walk into. During my freshman year, I lived in a hall with other minority freshmen, many of whom did not make it to graduation,” Flenory says. “I hope my recognition as a Black Pioneer serves as a beacon of hope for incoming minority freshmen, showing them that they can achieve success and be honored by this great university for breaking barriers and staying the course.”
A sociology major, Flenory played defensive back for the UNH football team when its fortunes turned upward during the early 2000s, which saw Wildcats reach the NCAA Division 1-AA (now FCS) playoffs several years in a row, including a 2004 victory over the then-defending 1-AA champion, Delaware, and several victories over in-state rival Dartmouth. “This experience of overcoming adversity through grit and belief has profoundly shaped me as a businessman.”
After graduation Flenory drew upon his dissatisfaction with the combine format for evaluating high school football talent. From scratch, he developed the CLUB seven-on-seven concept, an adaptation of traditional football that focuses on the passing game and is played with just seven players per team on the field. The concept, he says, disrupted established norms in college football recruiting.
He told Diversity Hall of Fame audience members that he carries his lessons from UNH every day, and advised future graduates to go out and create their own successes. “You have to be bold enough to dream big and stubborn enough to make those dreams reality. There will be moments when it seems like you can’t win, but I promise you, those moments are when you have to dig deeper, push harder and refuse to quit.”
Curtis D. Linton Jr. ’21
“At UNH I learned how to think critically, which is one of the most important skills of my job as an engineer,” says Linton, who majored in mechanical engineering and played offensive tackle for the Wildcats. “But the team aspect of the classroom and athletics at UNH also enabled me to be a good teammate at work: picking up slack where needed, finding work when it is not obvious what my next steps are and just doing my part.”
He says his path to success here included challenges, to be sure.
“My first winter in New Hampshire almost broke me! Between the cold, the grind of athletics, a harder set of classes, I was struggling,” he recalls. “By the grace of God, I made it through and was able to bounce back the next year and get an opportunity to do summer research with the McNair Scholars Program, which was the highlight of my time at UNH and where I felt like I really became an engineer.”
Linton has received several notable awards, including the BIPOC Seacoast Leadership Award and the UNH Create Your Own Story Award. Most recently, he was a finalist for the AUVSI Emerging Leader Award and received the Delaware FIRST Tech Challenge Judge’s Choice Award. These recognitions highlight his leadership and contributions to the field of robotics.
He advises young people to “pay attention to how you are feeling when you are doing different aspects of your job, and align yourself with the parts that feel right. … It might seem like you need to have it all figured out, but you don’t.”
Joyce Stallings-Harte ’74
“For me, ‘pioneer’ signifies stepping into new and fertile ground,” says Stallings-Harte, who had a long and distinguished career in the New York City public school system. “This aptly describes my experience at UNH as one of the first Black students to attend UNH.”
Stallings-Harte cites the day she declared her major and spending part of her senior year abroad as particularly special experiences at UNH. After graduating with a degree in elementary education, she spent several years working in sales and marketing for corporations such as E. I. DuPont de Nemours, CooperVision, Bausch & Lomb and Deering Milliken. She then earned a master’s degree in early childhood education from New York University and a master’s of education in supervision and administration from the Bank Street College of Education.
Currently, Stallings-Harte says she is most passionate about her expanding family and “taking opportunities to be of service to others.” As she told the audience at the Hall of Fame event, she currently does work in Haiti and Guyana, instructing teachers in writing and reading comprehension.
Of her UNH days, she recalls the partying and late nights with friends “I won’t mention … some of them are in this room tonight,” she joked. But she said there’s a deeper reason she has a special place in her heart for her alma mater.
“At UNH, I felt loved. I felt safe here. I knew I could go to any staff member and receive the attention that I needed.”
Derek E. Thompson ’22 ’23G
Thompson earned a bachelor’s degree in recreation management and policy and a master’s in public administration at UNH and also played safety for the Wildcat football team. He is currently a life insurance agent in his hometown of Bear, Delaware, and credits his experiences in the classroom as well as on the gridiron for helping him gain the skills to assess client needs and build trust.
“My degrees and experiences at UNH have helped me out in my professional life. By being a member of the UNH football team and playing in over 40 games during my career, I was able to take what I was taught from Coach McDonnell and Coach Santos and apply it to my professional career,” says Thompson. “I am very grateful to have had these two coaches be a part of my life and guide me as I grew up at UNH.”
After graduating, Thompson returned home to Delaware and took a chance on an opportunity to work as an insurance agent at Globe Life, where he helped families set up estate plans. He then used that experience to land a position as a quality assurance analyst at JPMorganChase, where he works with a team to help prevent financial crimes like money laundering.
Speaking of the Black Pioneers at UNH, Thompson appreciates the dual impact of being recognized in this way: “This title not only acknowledges personal accomplishments but also highlights the importance of representation and diversity within the university community.”
Thompson’s advice to current UNH students? “Build relationships with peers, professors and mentors so that you have someone who can guide you on the right path to accomplish your goals. Pursue your passions. Identify something that you are good at and want to excel in.”
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