Poole Class of 2021 Spotlight: George Shara

Most anyone who has spent time in Nelson Hall has likely seen the smiling face of George Shara – either studying, talking with a faculty member or enjoying a cup of coffee at Port City Java. Shara, who will graduate from the Poole College of Management this spring with a bachelor’s in accounting and minor in economics, has truly made the most of his time on campus.

Shara has participated in organizations such as the Poole College of Management Student Ambassadors program where he served as public relations coordinator, vice president of the Arab Student Organization (ASO) and Alpha Kappa Psi. He also played an active role in Poole’s Spring Connect program.

“Being a Spring Connect student myself, I know how hard it can be to come to NC State in the spring after everyone else in your graduating class started in the fall,” Shara says. “It is for that reason, I made sure that I could use my Poole Ambassador position in order to reach out to Spring Connect students and attend their seminars and information sessions in order to give them a sense of comfort and let them know that it will be okay.”

Shara says his participation in the program was one of the highlights of his time at Poole.

“My most memorable moment as a Poole Ambassador and maybe one of my favorite NC State moments of all time was when I was walking in Nelson Hall and this one student walked up to me and said that she remembered who I was since I was the ambassador that spoke with her at a Spring Connect event,” Shara remembers. “To me, that gave me a sense of accomplishment in the fact that I was doing something right as an ambassador and I was able to leave an everlasting impression for someone to come to the Poole College of Management.”

Making connections is a skill Shara developed over time. Originally from Birmingham, Mich., Shara moved six times and lived in four different states while growing up – giving him plenty of opportunities to make new friends and adjust to new environments. When his family moved to North Carolina his junior year of high school, he started looking at colleges and universities – and ultimately chose NC State’s Poole College of Management in hopes of pursuing a career in accounting or finance.

“While at NC State, I took an introduction to financial accounting class and had a really great professor that I learned a lot from,” Shara says. “I wouldn’t say accounting came naturally to me – I always had to put in a bit more effort on exams and quizzes to make sure I got everything right – but I also found myself really enjoying solving all these complex problems. That was when I knew that I wanted to stick with accounting.”

After graduating this May, Shara will head to Detroit to begin an internship with PwC as an external audit intern, which he hopes will lead to a full-time offer. He also plans to pursue his master’s degree in accounting at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, Ross School of Business, and obtain his CPA certification. 

And while this next season of life might take him from the east coast, the relationships he made while at Poole – like with his advisor Ayo Agunbiade – will stay with him the rest of his life.

Mr. A. is the one person I trusted most during my time at Poole. He has always been by my side through every decision that I have made and was always there to help and support me.

“Mr. A. is the one person I trusted most during my time at Poole. He has always been by my side through every decision that I have made and was always there to help and support me,” Shara says. “Even though he is my academic advisor, I consider Mr. A. a friend, mentor and a great person that I am blessed to have met.”
“While Poole is one of the most academically competitive colleges on campus, it is also one of the smallest – which means that as a student at Poole, there is an opportunity to meet and become close with an immense amount of your fellow classmates, professors and other faculty members,” he continues. “I cannot thank all my friends, professors, academic advisor, career coach, tutors, mentors and all the other amazing people for making these four years at NC State and the Poole College of Management the best four years of my life.”