Poole College celebrates with Class of 2014
On May 10, the NC State Poole College of Management and Jenkins Graduate Programs marked the graduation of 767 undergraduate, masters and doctoral students. The college’s commencement ceremony was held in PNC Arena, immediately following NC State’s university-wide commencement ceremony, and concluded with the college's traditional pinning ceremony. Photos from the graduation ceremony and receptions held in the week prior are avaiable at the college's account in Flickr. This year's graduates also posted images to this Poole College tagboard.
The ceremony began with the college’s traditional student address, this time presented by two members of the Class of 2014: Amy Elizabeth Bero and Kenneth Ryan Hylton. Byro, from Bedford, Mass., majored in business administration and is beginning her career as a treasury analyst with NetApp in San Jose, Calif. Hylton is from Jacksonville, N.C., majored in business administration and is beginning his career as an operations analyst with Credit Suisse in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Read their remarks.
Among the undergraduate program graduates were 21 finalists for the Poole College of Management Board of Advisors Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award which recognizes one outstanding undergraduate student for leadership, service and engagement in the college, the university and the community. Also honored were the college’s four highest ranking undergraduate scholars, reflecting their academic achievement.
Students are nominated for Board of Advisors award by members of the faculty of the college, and the award recipient is selected by a committee of representatives of the college’s Board of Advisors. Criteria include demonstrated leadership, campus and community service, and participation in personal and professional growth experiences here at NC State. Students are nominated for this award by members of the faculty of the college and the recipient is selected by a committee of Board of Advisors members.
This year’s finalists are:
- George Christian Allen
- Alex Jin-Wei Chin
- Julian Alston Cobb
- Robert Elder
- Claudene Nicole Fajariot
- Jacob Fericy
- Eric Robert Frumkin
- Stephen Denis Hart
- Jordan Rachael Jennings
- Vanessa R. LoftisMairghread Mary “Maggie” Martin
- Steven L. Miller
- Elise Nicole Hauser
- James Adam Luther
- Russell Warren “Rusty” Mau
- Kristin Elizabeth Murphy
- Allison E. Saito
- Matthew Paul Smith
- Mary Joy Spears
- Michael Senour Thomas
- Ivana Vidovic
Saito receives Poole Board of Advisors award
Recipient of the 2014 Poole College Board of Advisors Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award is Allison E. Saito, of Wilmington, N.C. Presenting the award was Hampton Pitts, an alumn of the college (B.S. business management and economics, 1986) and member of the Poole Board of Advisors. Pitts, a real estate, development and home building executive, commended Saito for her achievement.
Saito graduated with bachelor’s degrees in economics and mathematics. In her award essay, she states, “NC State has not made me a leader; only the following of others can do that. However, NC State has made me more of a person that you would want to follow. I am more experienced, more understanding, and more assertive. I have learned the value of shared goals, how to face obstacles, and when to say ‘I don’t know.’”
Shannon Davis, associate dean of Poole College, said that Saito embraced “The Three I’s” – involvement, internships and international studies – that all incoming students are encouraged to engage in during their years at Poole College. Saito was an active leader in several student organizations, completed two summer internships and studied aboard in Budapest, Hungary. After graduation, she will begin graduate work in the Duke University doctoral program in economics.
Special recognition: Highest Ranking Scholars
Davis announced the college’s four Highest Ranking Scholars, students who achieved the highest grade point average in their respective programs of study. The 2014 Poole College Highest Ranking Scholars are:
- Kaley Bryn Baughman, major in business administration with human resources concentration and minor in psychology. Baughman served as the college’s liaison for the Society for Human Resource Management. She was on the Dean’s List every semester, active in the Golden Key International Honor Society and is a lifetime member of Beta Gamma Sigma. She completed three internships, with NC State Dining Services, Duke Energy’s accounts receivable department and Duke Energy’s workforce administration program. Her home town in Charlotte, N.C.
- Alex Jin-Wei Chin, majors in economics and mathematics and minor in linguistics. He was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, participated in an NC Sate undergraduate research grant, and received the Park Scholarship and College of Sciences Outstanding Senior Scholarship. He was a member of the University Honors Program and received the Outstanding Poster Award at the Joint Mathematics Meeting in 014. Chin also completed Research Experiences for Undergraduates at Indiana University and Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, and study abroad experiences at Sichuan University in China, and in Budapest, Hungary. He is beginning a doctoral program in statistics at Stanford University. His home town is Cary, N.C.
- Valerie Catherine Correale, major in business administration with a concentration in marketing and a minor in Spanish. Correale participated in the University Scholars Program and was a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Society for Human Resource Management. She also served in leadership positions with the Union Activities Board at NC State, and volunteered with NC State’s Center for Student Leadership, Ethics and Public Service (SCSLEPS) in several roles, including mentoring middle school students and participating in an Alternative Service Break in the Dominican Republic. In addition, she completed internships with GroWiLD Granola, Cisco Systems, and L&E research in Raleigh. She will begin employment as a business analyst at Cisco Systems in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Her home town is Raleigh, N.C.
- Allison Elizabeth Saito, majoring in economics and mathematics, was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and was the secretary for the Society of Politics, Economics and Law. She also served as an ambassador for the College of Sciences. Saito worked as a research assistant at Tulane University during the summer of 2012 and as a finance intern with TE Connectivity. She studied abroad in Budapest, Hungary, where she completed the Budapest Semester in Mathematics program. Her home town is Wilmington, N.C.
Also recognized in the commencement program were new members of Poole College’s chapters of the following honors societies.
- Phi Beta Kappa: 6 new members
- Phi Kappa Phi: 5 new members
- Omicron Delta Epsilon: 20 new members
- Beta Alpha Psi: 20 new members
- Beta Gamma Sigma: 51 new members
- Jenkins Graduate Program recognition
Steve Allen, associate dean for Poole College’s Jenkins Graduate Programs and research, introduce faculty who announced recipients of the college’s graduate degree recipients. The Jenkins Graduate Programs include a doctorate in economics, a master of science and a master of arts in economics, and master’s degrees in accounting, business administration, and global innovation Management.
“We are proud to honor the 210 students who will receive their graduate degrees today,” he said.
Also recognized at the program were the 23 student marshals, led by head marshal Kellie Janes, who helped assure the ceremony ran smoothly.
Give Back to the Pack – and Survey Time
Following the commencement ceremony, graduates met with their family members for photographs at the concourse level of the PNC arena. Once family photos were completed, graduates were encouraged to drop their commencement ceremonial gowns in collection bins for the college’s gown recycling project, a part of Poole College’s focus on sustainability.
Graduates who would like to participate in the program may participate in the ‘Give Back to the Pack’ program by dropping gowns off at the college’s Office of Undergraduate Programs, 2150 Nelson Hall on the NC State campus. Both black and red NC State graduation gowns are being accepted. This program is being managed by Poole College’s chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi, the professional business fraternity.
Poole College graduates are also reminded to complete the NC State University Future Plans Survey, if they have not yet done so. Data from this survey are an important part of the NC State University and Poole College of Management collegiate rankings. The survey is accessible via mobile devices or computer.
The college’s commencement program concluded with the college’s traditional Pinning Ceremony, in which the new graduates ‘pinned’ each other, using the Poole College pin each received when leaving the stage. Poole College Dean Ira Weiss began the ceremony by securing Saito’s pin to her graduation gown.
In conclusion, Weiss said, “Graduates, I ask you to wear your Poole College of Management pin often and proudly. As you encounter other Poole alums who do not have a pin, do as we did today – take off your pin and pin them. Then let us know and we will send you another. Through this pinning process, we hope to unite all Poole College of Management alums, and create the strongest alumni network within the entire University.”
By the numbers, Jenkins Graduate Programs:
- Doctor of Economics: 4
- Master of Economics: 16
- Master of Accounting: 90
- Master of Business Administration: 76
- Master of Global Innovation Management: 21
By the numbers, Poole College Undergraduate Programs
- Bachelor of Accounting: 87
- Bachelor of Science in Business Administration: 362
- Bachelor of Arts in Economics: 16
- Bachelor of Science in Economics: 38
Note: Students who have asked that their names be withheld from publication are not included in the counts by degree program and other listings in this story.
