By Fernanda Castillo Huerta
Staff Writer
Assistant Athletic Director Dominique Maneice, who was responsible for overseeing digital content for the Wingate athletic department’s social media platforms and the school’s athletics website, stepped down last month to take on a similar role at Queens University of Charlotte, leaving behind a legacy of leadership and collaboration.
The decision to move to Queens was not an easy one for Maneice, who will focus more on media relations and website management as the Charlotte school’s new assistant director for athletic communications.
“The move to Queens was one of the most difficult decisions I have faced in my professional career,” said Maneice, who was at Wingate for two years and previously served as sports information director at St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, N.C., before his arrival at WU in June 2022.
Maneice said his decision was motivated by a desire to gain experience at a Division I program, something he had not done before. At Queens, which is entering its third year of competition in the Division I Atlantic Sun Conference, Maneice will direct coverage of women’s soccer, women’s basketball and men’s and women’s tennis.
It’s a considerably lighter workload compared to his management of content for all 24 NCAA Division II teams at Wingate.
“My career aspirations have always been to work at the Division I level, so the opportunity to get the experience at Queens was something I couldn’t pass,” said the U.S. Air Force veteran.
During his time at Wingate, Maneice’s work in creative services was instrumental in helping the athletic department win the South Atlantic Conference Media Relations Staff of the Year Award in 2023.
Alexis Fernandez, a junior from the Dominican Republic who worked under Maneice on the creative services team, described him as a leader who promoted growth and opportunity for everyone.
“His leadership style was good, granting opportunity to anyone that wanted to work, and distributing work amongst the workers,” Fernandez said.
Hoyane Esper, a junior from France who also worked under Maneice, described Maneice’s leadership style as flexible and inclusive.
“Dom never imposed an authoritarian style within the social media team,” Esper said. “In fact, he was more a mediator than a director. He always gave us a chance to work on our own ideas and projects.”
Esper remembers a project in which she created a video for a track meet Wingate was participating in and Maneice trusted her with full creative control. “I was completely free to realize the content in terms of shooting and editing,” she said.
Reflecting on his time at Wingate, Maneice is most proud of the student creative content team he led and developed. “We grew together and tried things the university had never done before,” he said.
His work also led to the creation of Bulldogflix, a social media account that allowed student creators to showcase their work. “It is one of the most engaged and liked accounts at Wingate,” Maneice said.
Despite Maneice’s departure, both Fernandez and Esper believe his influence will continue to shape the team’s future. “His absence will be challenging, but we have learned enough from him to keep going,” Esper said.
Fernandez echoed that sentiment, emphasizing how Maneice’s support left a lasting impression.
“He let us know that the most important thing is to chase our dreams and inspired us to always do our best at what we love,” she said.
Looking ahead, Maneice hopes the Bulldogs’ social media team continues to push boundaries and evolve. “The foundation has been laid for them to grow,” he said.” The biggest thing the team has to do now is to take chances and try new things.”
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