Breaking Barriers
As alums themselves and now proud Poole parents, Fran and Mike Lawrence hope their scholarship can help deserving students become part of the Poole Pack.
With three degrees between them and three of their four sons enrolled at NC State, Fran and Mike Lawrence certainly live the mantra, “Red and White for Life.”
The Wolfpack connections don’t stop there. Fran, who earned her bachelor’s in accounting in 1995 and her Master of Accounting in 1996, currently serves as University Controller. Mike, who earned his bachelor’s in accounting in 1993, serves on the NC State Endowment Fund Board and previously chaired the NC State Investment Fund Board.
They’re 20-year football season ticket holders, passionate fans of other Wolfpack sports, and Fran laughs about her own tradition of having photos taken with other ACC mascots – with her wolfies up, of course.
“If you’re accepted, there shouldn’t be another barrier of paying for it.”
The two never crossed paths while at NC State, meeting in 1997 while working at Deloitte. Mike is a Raleigh native and NC State fan, who remembers really catching Pack fever when men’s basketball won the National Championship in 1983.
Fran came to NC State from New Jersey, having never set foot on campus until the week before classes began her freshman year.
“I loved NC State,” she says. “It was a great experience for me.”
Both Fran and Mike recall their interactions as students with professors like CJ Skender, who is now retired after spending the latter part of his career at UNC, and now Dean Frank Buckless, then an accounting professor. Their experiences on campus cemented their Poole Pack pride early on.
Now the Lawrence’s son, Dominic, is a junior studying business with a finance analytics concentration, while twins Matthew and Andrew are freshmen exploring their academic paths but both leaning toward entering Poole next year.
So when the couple reflected on how they wanted to give back in their lives, they thought about everything NC State has meant to them. Supporting future students through a scholarship felt like the right fit and they established the Lawrence Family Scholarship to be awarded to students within the Poole College of Management.
“We’d been saving over the years and felt there are a lot of really good kids out there that may not have the financial ability to attend Poole,” Mike says.
Both acknowledge the students accepted to Poole today are among the best and brightest.
“If you’re accepted, there shouldn’t be another barrier of paying for it,” Fran says.
Giving back for the Lawrences was about giving where their passions lie, Fran says.
“It’s rewarding for us to do that for NC State,” she says. “There’s so many areas that need support; everyone has a unique skill set and can find that area that makes them happy to contribute in a meaningful way.”
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