Poole College Celebrates National Transfer Student Week

Poole College of Management will be spending the week of Oct. 17 recognizing the students who have joined the college through transferring from another university or through the Change of Degree Application (CODA) Process. National Transfer Student Week recognizes the success of transfer students and the faculty, staff and fellow classmates who have supported them. 

This year’s theme for National Transfer Student Week is “plug into transfer”.  Poole College is excited help these students get ‘plugged in’ to resources and celebrate them by sharing their accomplishments with the larger NC State community.

Transfer Students By the Numbers

“Transfer Student Week is one of my favorite weeks of the semester because we get to celebrate the accomplishments of our transfer and CODA students with the larger Poole community,” said Megan Van Hook, assistant director of transfer admissions.

Meet Poole Transfer Students

Will Rice, business administration, operations and supply chain management concentration

Will Rice joined Poole College through Exploratory Studies, an NC State program aimed to help first-year students find a major. He is a senior majoring in business administration with a concentration in operations and supply chain management.

Rice is currently the president of the Poole College Student Ambassadors, an organization that serves as the face of the college and supports recruitment throughout the year, and considers this role his biggest accomplishment at NC State.

“Lean on your peers and professors for advice. The culture within Poole College is one where everybody within the building wants the person next to them to succeed,” said Rice. “Build relationships with your classmates and make sure to make connections with your professors as they all want you to succeed after college.”

Travis Nguyen, accounting; business administration, information technology concentration

Travis Nguyen is a senior double majoring in accounting and business administration with a concentration in information technology who transferred from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. As a Vietnamese immigrant who moved to the U.S. in 2008, he knows from experience how to thrive in an unfamiliar environment.

“The new campus, city and people might seem scary at first, but once you put yourself out there, the satisfaction of finding things you are passionate about and getting a hint of where you see yourself in your early career will be worth it,” said Nguyen.

During his time at Poole College, Nguyen interned at KPMG, served as the director of logistics, finance and information technology for the Krispy Kreme Challenge and joined 180 Degrees Consulting, a student-led consultancy for non-profits and social enterprises, as a senior consultant.

Jordyn Umstead, business administration, information technology concentration 

Jordyn Umstead is a senior studying business administration with an information technology concentration. She entered Poole College through the Exploratory Studies Program and has set herself apart as a dynamic student leader through her roles as vice president of the Black Business Student Association, a Poole student ambassador and involvement with Women in Business. Her accomplishments also include an internship at Bloomberg in New York City, which she found through a professor’s posting.

“Do not be afraid to join clubs,” said Umstead. “Poole has so many clubs and resources that will help you succeed throughout your college experience so use them.”

Outside of her coursework and involvement with extracurricular organizations, Umstead loves to travel. She has been to England, France, Spain and many islands in the Caribbean.

Justin Hazel, business administration, information technology concentration 

Justin Hazel joins Poole College as an external transfer student who received an Assocaite of Science with honors at Cape Fear Community College. Hazel is majoring in business administration with a concentration in information technology. He is most proud to be a 31-year-old who earned the opportunity to continue his education at NC State over a decade after high school and considers the undergraduate admission office a great resource for transfer students.

“It is my first time going to school and as a first-generation student, and it has been overwhelming at times but very rewarding,” said Hazel. “I could not have done it without my significant other, Elizabeth, for support and inspiration.”