Alumni

Jul 21, 2020

Alumna Designs and Donates Masks with Farmworker Safety in Mind

NC State alumna, Caldwell Fellow and designer Lisbeth Carolina Arias’ latest project, colorful cloth masks, draws on her connections with 4-H to help protect farmworkers in North Carolina, in partnership with NC State Extension. 

Jul 10, 2020

Generational Generosity Supports Agribusiness Breakthroughs

NC State prepared Bill Culpepper for a career in agribusiness when he graduated in 1966, and his family has followed in his footsteps. The Culpeppers recently made a significant gift to NC State and the Plant Sciences Initiative, naming the lobby space of the new Plant Sciences Building slated to open in 2022. 

Jul 6, 2020

Delighting Plant Lovers With Unique Blooms

Tony Avent, a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumnus who studied horticulture under J.C. Raulston, has seen a dramatic uptick in business -- and meaningful connections -- as the owner of Plant Delights Nursery, which ships rare and unusual perennials worldwide. The mail-order nursery funds Juniper Level Botanic Garden, a 28-acre research and education garden in Raleigh. Avent and his wife Anita have begun to create an endowment that will gift the garden to NC State as a bequest. 

Jul 6, 2020

Taking Care of Business

Park Scholars Chasta Hamilton ’07, Luke Perkins ’14 and Lindsay Wrege ’21 lead different types of businesses, but all shifted operations when faced with unprecedented challenges this spring. 

Jun 23, 2020

Alumna’s Experiences in Poole College Inspire Leadership Across Generations

Through her experiences in the Caldwell Fellows program and at Poole College of Management, Raven Solomon developed the leadership skills needed to pivot to a successful career as a speaker. Solomon continues to stay involved with NC State through workshops and speaking engagements focused on generational dynamics in the workplace and soft skills development.  

Jun 23, 2020

Mary Beth Martin ’08 Helps Expose North Carolina’s Musical Roots

Park Scholarships alumna Mary Beth Martin '08 puts leadership, service, character and scholarship to work as executive director of the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby. There, she heads efforts to celebrate the legacy and contributions of one of the most influential bluegrass and country-music banjo players in history. 

Jun 16, 2020

Angela C. Caraway Family Scholarship a Dream Come True

Angela Caraway '95 has stayed connected to NC State through her work as the event planner for Packapalooza, and as a board member for the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity and for the National Diversity Advisory Board. She recently furthered that connection by establishing the Caraway Family Scholarship to support first-generation students from North Carolina's rural counties. A combination of planned and annual gifts helped Caraway realize her dream of honoring her family in this way. 

Jun 16, 2020

Character, Service, and Leadership Deemed Essential as Park Alumni Care for Their Communities

Park Scholarships alumnae Tracy Forrest ’04 and Lauren Gainor ’04 share how the tenets of leadership, service and character have served them as doctors working in the medical field during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Jun 16, 2020

Alum Tyler Allen Reflects on His Time with Multicultural Student Affairs

Tyler Allen '14, '18 was a chancellor's aide, president of the Graduate Student Association, a Fraternity and Sorority Life resident director and a Three-Minute Thesis Winner during his time earning two degrees at NC State. Allen, named one of Forbes' 30 Under 30 in 2018, made one of his first university connections via his work-study job at Multicultural Student Affairs. He believes that investing in centers like this one through the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity represents an investment in the entire campus community. 

Jun 9, 2020

Endowment Honors Alumnus Who Valued Education and the Power of Scholarships

Alumnus Frank Madren’s love of electrical engineering and computer science was surpassed only by his love for his wife of 55 years, Jo Ann Madren. Three years after Frank passed away in 2015, Jo Ann honored his memory by endowing a merit-based scholarship at NC State in his name. The Frank Simpson Madren Scholarship Endowment is for undergraduate students in the College of Engineering with preference given to those with demonstrated financial need.