In 1973, Harriet Leah Rosser didn’t know the fellow sitting next to her would eventually become her husband, but when Winslow Carter laid eyes upon the girl with the long red hair in Dr. Jerry Wallace’s Marriage and the Family class, it was one of those special moments. Today, Wallace is president of Campbell University and Winslow and Harriet are married and the veterans of long and rewarding careers in social work and education. Harriet went on to receive a master’s degree in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1977, and Winslow received a master’s in education from Campbell University in 1984. To commemorate their parents and the education the Durham couple received at Campbell University, the Carters have established a scholarship to benefit Campbell education and social work majors, the Carter/Rosser School of Education/Department of Social Work Endowed Scholarship Fund of Campbell University in honor of Mary Smith Rosser of Sanford and in memory of Eugene Rosser and the late Walter and Betty Carter of Hubert in Onslow County. “We loved our education at Campbell,” Harriet said. “It was a great experience and we wanted to set up a scholarship in honor of our parents to help people who are first generation college students like we were and must depend on financial aid, loans and the federal Work Study program to put themselves through school.” After graduation, Winslow’s and Harriet’s lives took different paths. Harriet, who majored in sociology and is responsible for creating Campbell University’s first social work internship at the Lee Harnett Mental Health Center in Harnett County which led to her first job, at Cherry Hospital in Goldsboro; and Winslow became a missionary journeyman in Kenya, where he taught school. Although separated geographically, their thoughts were never far apart and they decided to marry in 1976. At present, the Carters are veterans of a total of 65 years in education and social work, with Winslow holding various teaching positions in history and serving a total of 14 years as director of Admissions for both Campbell University and Chowan College, and Harriet spending 32 years in social work and counseling. She just retired as a school counselor from the Durham Public Schools, while Winslow continues to work as Career Development Coordinator at East Chapel Hill High School. Although the couple have two children of their own, Emily Carter who works in Washington D.C., with Sister Cities Internationals, and Andrew Carter, who is a senior business management major at Appalachian State University; the couple have cared for nine foster children and hosted nine internationals in their home. In addition, they are currently helping medical student, David Golowo, son of a Baptist pastor in Monrovia, Liberia, and a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who plans to study neurosurgery. If she had it to do all over again, Harriet Carter said she would choose social work as a career and Campbell University as an alma mater. “I think Campbell’s Social Work program is so important because it is Christian based and that is the heart of social work,” Harriet said. “With this scholarship, we want to give students like us a head start toward their educational goals.” Harriet is the granddaughter of the late Mallie and Ola Smith of Lillington. For more information on how to contribute to the Carter/Rosser School of Education/Department of Social Work Endowed Scholarship Fund of Campbell University, contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 800-334-4111, ext. 1215.
Carters invest in the education of others