JOE E. CARTER ’86
Degree: B.S., Business Administration
City: Clarksburg, Md.
Occupation: Vice president of business development, marketing and communications, United Educators Insurance
Favorite ODU Memory: My favorite memory was working through a difficult project with an older, more experienced colleague my senior year, where we had to assess the feasibility of building a shopping center that didn’t exist. We started on the project not having a clue about where to start and got through it by interviewing real estate and financial professionals in the area. Using real estate financing models we were able to come up with a plan that was not only feasible, but quite practical. My early contribution was very much textbook-oriented and my colleague had a successful career in the U.S. Navy. I grew so much during that six-month exercise as the study progressed from impossible to a real and viable plan!

ROBERT V. ROUSSOS ’78
Degree: B.A., History
City: Norfolk
Occupation: Attorney
Favorite ODU Memory: It was in the 1980 basketball season. I had graduated two years earlier and was attending William and Mary School of Law. Several of my classmates were UVa grads and all I heard was how good UVa basketball was. I talked them into going to see the ODU-Syracuse game at Scope. Syracuse was undefeated and ranked No. 2 in one poll. We were down 13 points when we went to a full-court press with about five minutes left. The action was frantic, as ODU pulled ever closer. In the final seconds, Bobby Vaughan grabbed the ball and threw up a prayer that fell in as the buzzer sounded, giving us the victory. This was payback for the defeat we suffered in 1977 when Syracuse knocked us out of the ECAC championship game. Better than that, it gave this ODU grad bragging rights the rest of the year and silenced, at least temporarily, the Cavalier fans at W&M.

TARA F. SAUNDERS ’85 (M.B.A. ’92)
Degrees: B.S., Marketing; Master’s, Business Administration
City: Norfolk
Occupation: Director of real estate, Old Dominion University Real Estate Foundation
Favorite ODU Memory: It’s hard to pick one – there’s the 4400 Club, the Oyster Bowl games and post-game parties. But my favorite would have to be the student “Big Blue Bash” parties that took place at Scope after the men’s basketball games!