Laieke Abebe: Let me introduce myself

My name is Laieke Abebe (Like-uh Uh-bee-bee) and I love sports.

I’m the son of Ethiopian parents (Mulumebet Worku and Abebe Kebede) who now work as college professors at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro. I also have a younger sister, Leila, who is a rising senior at Boston College.

My parents were born in Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa (East Africa). I was born right outside of Washington D.C. in Silver Spring, Md. I moved to Greensboro when I was 3 years old. I started going to ECU in 2014 and I graduated from there last year.

Eastern North Carolina is the area that made me rediscover how much I love high school sports. It’s also the reason why I’ve been able to go to places I never thought I’d go. Covering my first sporting event, which was the Kinston football season opener against North Pitt last August, set the tone for this journey.

This area has a history of excellence in athletics and I think that’s going to continue in 2019-20. Lenoir County is a hardworking area with communities that are connected in so many ways.

Sports bring people together no matter what the result is and that’s what I love about covering sports in this part of the state.

I wanted to join Neuse News so I can continue to improve as a writer and as a person. I also felt that they, along with the other newspapers I work for, can get my name out there a little bit more. They have an excellent platform filled with experienced workers who know Lenoir, Jones, Greene and Pitt County and how well they represent this state.

I’m looking forward to making more connections in the community during the upcoming school year. The Neuse News coverage area is going to have another great year, so be on the lookout for some excellent content from a lot of excellent reporters. I’m very excited and humbled to receive this opportunity and I can’t wait to get started with fall sports.