Poole College sends nearly 400 graduates on their way
The Poole College of Management at NC State University welcomed 397 new graduates at the college’s commencement ceremony on Friday, December 18, at the PNC Arena. The college’s commencement ceremony followed the university’s campus-wide program at which 3,598 graduates were recognized.
Poole College graduates included 11 who received doctoral degrees in economics; six who received Master of Accounting degrees; 45, Master of Business Administration degrees; 41, Master of Global Innovation Management degrees, and 283, bachelor’s degrees in accounting, economics or business administration.
The college ceremony also included several traditions. One is the student address, delivered by an undergraduate student. This year’s speaker was Ayra Leigh Ajel, who graduated magna cum laude as an Alexander Hamilton Scholar.
Another is announcing the Poole College Board of Advisors Outstanding Student Award. The December 2015 recipient is Lindsay Ann Roth, one of 15 finalists who were selected from 21 students nominated for the award by the college’s faculty. Roth also graduated summa cum laude as an Alexander Hamilton Scholar.
A third Poole College tradition – the college’s alumni pinning ceremony – provides a way for new graduates to connect with Poole College alumni they meet as they start their careers. Ira R. Weiss, Poole College dean and Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Chair, affixed the college’s alumni pin on the lapel of Ajel’s graduation gown, and then invited all the December graduates to do the same for a fellow graduate. Each had received a pin as they left the stage with their diploma covers.
The Poole College alumni pinning ceremony was introduced in 2006 and continues to be a proud tradition in the college. Alumni wear their pins with pride – and are invited to pass them along to alumni they meet who do not have one of their own. They then can contact the college to receive a replacement pin.
More about the student honorees
The two student honorees' academic careers reflected the college's emphasis on three I's: involvement, international, and internship.
Students in the dual degree Alexander Hamilton Scholars program combine business and international studies. Ajel completed a double major in accounting and international studies, and studied one semester at Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy. Roth completed a double major in business administration and a supply chain and operations concentration, and international studies with an emphasis on the economy and environment and a minor in Spanish. She studied in Madrid, Spain.
Both also were very active in student affairs and completed internships.
Roth, from Arden, N.C., served as the fundraising chair for the Hamilton Scholars and is a member of Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society and Alpha Kappa Psi, The Professional Business Fraternity, where she served in several leadership positions. She completed a three-rotation co-op with BorgWarner Turbo in finance and supply and internships with John Deere and Ecolab. She has received the Volvo Group North American Scholarship and the Poole Study Abroad Scholarship. Following graduation, she will begin working for Ecolab in St. Paul, Minn., as a logistics analyst.
Ajel, from Jamestown, N.C., served as the president for the Hamilton Scholars, on the Leadership Team for the Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service and participated in the Chancellor’s Leadership Program. She had internships at Smith Leonard PLLC, Paragon Commercial Bank and Nixon Law Offices. Following graduation, she will complete an internship program with Deloitte in Raleigh and plans to pursue a master of accounting in the fall 2016.
Board of Advisors Outstanding Student Award finalists
- Ayra Leigh Ajel
- Alora Jean Caminiti
- Andrew Dylan Finch
- Krista B. King
- Matthew Loren Ledford
- Anne Elizabeth McGraw
- Gina Grace Miani
- Joseph Edward Mills
- Allison Julia Nealley
- Kali Joelle Pike
- Lindsay Ann Roth
- Dylan Reed Ryan
- Richard A. Sater
- Ashley Stephenson
