Growing up in Southern Pines, North Carolina, Nathan Auman always expected that he was going to attend college, complete ROTC and flight training, and serve in the US military for 10 years. 

All of that went out of the window during his first week at NC State when he withdrew from the Air Force ROTC scholarship program that he had initially accepted. Auman described the moment as a quasi-mid-life crisis, but he made the choice with the security of knowing that his Park Scholarship would cover the cost of his education and the military would still be available to join. 

“Coming in as a high-achieving student, I felt the pressure to be perfect and have it all figured out.”

His decision paid off. Auman graduated May 9 with a degree in industrial and systems engineering and a number of accolades on his resume. Despite being a Park Scholar, Chancellor’s Aide and University Honors Program participant, Auman found that his pathway to success wasn’t all smooth sailing. 

“I definitely struggled. Coming in as a high-achieving student, I felt the pressure to be perfect and have it all figured out. Getting rid of the plan I had for my entire life was a big deal,” Auman said. 

He went on to describe his first-year of college as overwhelming. He struggled mentally, physically and academically, which set a negative tone that continued into his sophomore year. Auman felt like a failure and that mindset kept him from pursuing opportunities he really wanted. 

“I shut down. I felt like they picked the wrong person for this scholarship,” Auman said. 

His first two years at NC State felt tumultuous to say the least, yet Auman found refuge from his inner turmoil by taking a variety of classes with the Crafts Center, including glass fusing, black and white film photography, and ceramics – which he had been interested in since childhood. 

Auman’s great-grandfather was a potter in Seagrove, North Carolina, the pottery capital in the state. Growing up, Auman worked on school projects about his great-grandfather’s work and the formula for his glazes that have been lost to time. Auman hopes to one day be able to reverse engineer the formulation.

Beyond his family connection, in pottery class, Auman could put pressure on the clay instead of on himself. 

“Taking a lump of clay and spinning it on a wheel, the form isn’t always what you want it to be,” he said. “But the clay tells you what it wants to be.” 

Much like the clay in his hands, Auman was taking shape and telling the universe what he wanted to be, and at the start of his junior year, he put an end to his proverbial sophomore slump. But to move forward, he had to do something he’d put off for two years: ask for help. 

For Auman, this was a challenge; he was used to being the guy that people went to for help. In high school he started a support group for students and brought donuts every week. He aimed to be someone who always offered a smile and positivity, but in his state of overwhelm, that wasn’t something he could give. 

“I got tired of not being able to help people the way that I wanted to,” he said.

So Auman helped himself. He started going to the Counseling Center and Carmichael Gym while also participating in obstacle course races – and he stopped telling himself no. 

Saying yes looked like pursuing the experiences Auman wanted but had convinced himself he wasn’t qualified for, like accepting leadership roles in student government, revitalizing the Food Recovery Network and taking part in the Chancellor’s Aide Program. 

His involvements created real change, like expanding dining hall hours on Centennial Campus and recovering three tons of food from the dining hall and athletics events to support Feed the Pack Food Pantry. 

 “I was on the rise,” Auman said. “Much more successful.” 

Much more successful indeed. Auman’s final years at NC State look nothing like how he described the first half. In that time, he has said yes to extraordinary things – like an Alternative Service Break to Chile where Auman helped maintain indigenous Mapuche families’ farms, and leading a successful $600,000 federal grant application for wastewater infrastructure during his summer internship with LKC Engineering, PLLC. 

Auman even made it to the final round of consideration to be NC State’s 2026 student commencement speaker. Auman’s speech spoke to the undergraduate experience he and many other students faced. He shared that failure is not final, and the definition of success can transform from being perfect to asking for help. 

The climax of the speech asks the vital question that Auman needed to hear during his rocky transition into college: Why not us?

That’s ultimately the question that guided his final two years at NC State. But don’t call it a comeback; this is who Auman has always been. 

Now with his mid-youth crisis behind him, he’s open to whatever comes next. Maybe he’ll use his pilot’s license to fly for a major airline. Or maybe he will sell original hand-crafted ceramics made in his home studio, which was funded by a Park Enrichment Grant.

For now, what’s next is returning to work at his summer internship company – and finalizing the details of his wedding ceremony with his childhood sweetheart this September. After that, who knows? But undoubtedly, Auman will again sit at the wheel of his life and tell the universe what he wants to be – and this time, he will know how to ask for help to get there.