Newell to assist with N.C. high school marketing curriculum development

A smiling woman wears a pink jacket over a pink and green striped shirt. — ECU College of Business teaching instructor Dana Newell is working with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to develop high school social media marketing curriculum. (Contributed photo)

A cold email has evolved as a way for East Carolina University College of Business (COB) teaching instructor Dana Newell to make a difference in the lives of North Carolina high school students. Newell was one of several selected as a business and industry expert on social media by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (DPI) Career and Technical Education (CTE) for a new social media marketing curriculum.

Newell is a member of the American Marketing Association of the Triangle, and the organization helped connect Newell with DPI.

“The opportunity came about through the American Marketing Association of the Triangle,” Newell said. “Because I have a strong commitment to digital marketing and social media being a part of that, they found me on LinkedIn, reached out to me and asked me to get in touch with Felicia Davis. She is spearheading the curriculum, and they thought (Davis) would need my help.”

She contacted Davis and was added to the project. Newell’s role is to review the curriculum and make necessary revisions before it is introduced during the 2026-27 school year.

“Most of the curriculum was built. I was coming in to review the curriculum, along with two others, to see if it was in line with what students would be looking for. They were asking a variety of questions to see what topics would be of interest to students. These ranged from anything from AI-generated content to social media, digital marketing, user-generated content (Reddit, Quora, and Substack) and SEO (search engine optimization).”

Once the curriculum is established and in progress, Newell said she will be called in as a judge of social media platforms that students will develop as a class project.

Newell appreciates the opportunity to help develop the curriculum and share her skills with others.

“I think what I feel is that someone is recognizing my talent,” she said. “People are finding me based on what I’m doing with AMA and ECU and discovering that we need this person to help us. I feel honored that I’m helping students who are looking to leapfrog into a career in digital marketing, and they’re using my ongoing expertise as part of their program.”