NC State Community Rallies to Help Those Impacted by Hurricane Florence

When damage from Hurricane Florence led to the cancellation of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington’s fall career fair, staff at the NC State Poole College of Management’s Career Development Center extended an invitation for students at the coastal university to attend Poole College’s supply chain networking event held September 27 and the college’s career fair on Sept. 28.

Evan Jones, a junior majoring in supply chain management and economics at UNC-W, was among the nearly 50 students who accepted the invitation, which was made on quick notice following the hurricane.

“I’m not missing this opportunity,” he told Poole College communications while signing in at the Poole College Career Fair on Friday morning.

He and three other classmates had attended the supply chain event Thursday evening, and he was heading into the McKimmon Center conference rooms to meet recruiters. They were greeted by familiar faces when registering – UNC-W career development staff members Thom Rakes, director; Rebecca Daneff, associate director; and Charles Ozun, career center counselor.

“We are so grateful that our friends at NC State answered the call before it was even made,” Daneff said. “Our state level professional governing association, North Carolina Association of Colleges & Employers’ motto at the annual conference last year was ‘Better Together’. I couldn’t have said it better myself,” she said, referencing the outreach made by Poole College’s career development team.

Brian Newton, director of Poole College’s Career Development Center, was quoted in a Technician story, saying that the idea of inviting UNC-W students came up when he realized how long students would be off campus.

“I was thinking about post-hurricane and recovery and thinking about how the UNC-W students have been affected by this storm,” Newton said. “No classes. They had to evacuate campus and if you’re graduating in December or May, the storm impacted your job search. It impacted your career decisions.”

Read the full story about NC State’s outreach to coastal communities in the Technician.