Two N.C. A&T Alumnae Honored during the CAA Basketball Tournament as Hometown Heroes
On March 15, two North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University alumnae, Wanda Gardiner ’87 and Victoria Revelle ’11, were honored during the CAA Tournament as Hometown Heroes. Both recipients received recognition basketballs during the 2024 women’s CAA basketball Championship at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C.
The CAA Hometown Heroes program recognizes individuals who have made a positive impact within their community or on the campus of a CAA institution. Over the past several years, the conference has been proud to honor members of the military, police, fire and rescue departments, teachers and many others who have provided an important service to aid people in their local area. The CAA has also recognized people who have overcome significant health challenges.
Wanda Gardiner is a 10-year Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) survivor. She was diagnosed 5 months after losing her mother to breast cancer. Having the knowledge and experience of being her mother’s caregiver prepared her for my bout with breast cancer. She underwent 10 rounds of chemotherapy prior to having a mastectomy in October 2013. She takes the gift of being cancer free to help inspire and advocate for others. She does this in several ways, one of which is raising funds for the American Cancer Society (ACS) for the past 7 years. She leads the Breast Cancer Awareness team at Booz Allen Hamilton, and speaks out at every opportunity that is afforded to her, to remind individuals of the importance of getting a mammogram. Lastly, she is an Angel Advocate for the Tigerlily Foundation, which is committed to ending breast cancer disparities that disproportionately impact the Black community. To maintain her health, I exercise every day and participate in 5k runs, 10K runs, and half-marathons with Black Girls Run.
Victoria Revelle, MPH is a national award-winning public health practitioner dedicated to addressing health disparities and increasing health equity through promoting and protecting the highest attainable level of health and well-being for all people. As a professional trained by a surgeon general, she is a champion for healthy living and a strong proponent of interventions that empower Washingtonians and address the social determinants of health.
As an advocate for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Civic Action, Victoria successfully served our nation through deploying to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) COVID-19 Response, during the height of the pandemic where she supported and bolstered a cornucopia of teams (including a team which answered requests from the White House).
As a believer in integrity, Victoria is humble, honest and fair in her words and actions. She has demonstrated this in her work as she engages with residents throughout the DC community, co-implementing public health outreach and engagement in Wards 1, 6, 7 and 8. Her efforts resulted in an invitation from an Office of the Mayor to be a guest speaker at the 6th Annual National Maternal and Infant Summit (where she advocated for the importance of equity in health).
