By Caroline Barnhill
Candise Lewis came to NC State with years of higher education experience working in various advancement and marketing roles at universities like the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Shaw University. After spending three years working as a gift specialist in the university’s department of advancement services, she found a new home in the Poole College of Management in 2019.
Today Lewis works as a project coordinator within the Jenkins MBA program where she handles logistics for semesterly Jenkins MBA events, such as Raleigh Residency, commencement, new student orientation, Grand Business Challenge, McLauchlan Leadership Series, Krispy Kreme Challenge and more.
Q&A with Candise Lewis
What is a project in your current role that you are particularly proud of?
My current role is a great fit for me – no two days are the same and I love that. I thrive in environments that involve and include opportunities to learn, build relationships, technical diversity and operations. The commencement and hooding ceremonies check every box and offer a huge sense of accomplishment for everyone involved.
What’s the most memorable Poole College event you have attended?
The commencement and hooding ceremony. During commencement, I serve as the “show director” and sit in the PNC control room with CanesVision. The control room consists of numerous video production staff and a wall of 50+ monitors displaying multiple camera angles, cued artwork, etc. There, I communicate with the Poole staff on the floor via radio and cue the CanesVision video producer, sound and fanfare teams during the event while following the event script and production schedule. It was pretty nerve-racking initially, but I caught on quickly and I really appreciated the experience. The Spring 2022 Hooding Ceremony was spearheaded by Nichole Miller and myself. It was the first hooding ceremony in years due to COVID and we decided to host the event in a new venue – Reynolds Coliseum. The event went smoothly and our team leads, staff volunteers and faculty created an amazing experience for our Jenkins graduates.
Why do you love being a part of Poole?
As we all know, the people make the job. Nichole Miller has mastered the art of leading a team. No bull – the Jenkins MBA Program is the best department I’ve ever worked for. I’ve never loathed the thought of coming to work – I look forward to it.
Tell us more about your life outside of Poole College.
My goal is to stay as active as possible. I enjoy learning new hobbies and sports, science and technology, edifying and honest conversations, and discovering what each city has to offer.
My Poole colleagues might not know…
Skydiving cured my Knievel. I used to be a bit of a daredevil in my younger days. To celebrate graduating from graduate school in 2012, I decided to go skydiving at the Louisburg airport. As soon as I leaned over the door of the aircraft, I said to myself “You’ve done it now, kid. If you make it out of this, you’re done!” We jumped and landed successfully, gained our closing pin, and then I calmly walked to my car where I suddenly fell asleep for 45 mins from overstimulation. Haha, what a day!
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