{"id":206005,"date":"2024-04-25T14:15:29","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T18:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/?p=206005"},"modified":"2024-04-25T14:31:38","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T18:31:38","slug":"poole-alumnus-aims-to-expand-access-opportunity-for-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/25\/poole-alumnus-aims-to-expand-access-opportunity-for-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Poole Alumnus Aims To Expand Access, Opportunity for Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alex Darden didn\u2019t follow his father into the field of teaching. But he learned a lesson from him \u2014 and took a step to help many Poole College students pursue goals and transform their lives.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Darden, a 1998 <a href=\"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/undergraduate\/majors-and-minors\/business-administration\/\">Poole business administration<\/a> graduate, saw the power of giving from his dad\u2019s example. And now he\u2019s giving back to NC State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The two endowments Darden recently established for Poole, in honor of his father, Jim, include one that supports need-based students from eastern North Carolina. The other supports an awards program for undergraduates and graduate students that recognizes leadership, research and scholarship, innovation and other skills and contributions to the Poole community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Award winners were celebrated at a ceremony at Poole on April 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNC State was a foundational part of my life. It\u2019s important to try to make sure others have a similar opportunity. I also wanted a way to honor my dad. This seemed like a good opportunity to do that,\u201d says Darden, who grew up in Greenville, in eastern North Carolina, where his parents live.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-ncst-highlight with-image\"><h2 class=\"highlight__label\">Related<\/h2><a href=\"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/19\/poole-college-announces-inaugural-student-award-winners\/\" class=\"highlight__link\" data-ua-cat=\"Highlight Block\" data-ua-action=\"Story Click\" data-ua-label=\"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/19\/poole-college-announces-inaugural-student-award-winners\/\"><div class=\"highlight__image-container\"><div class=\"highlight__image-background\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"848\" class=\"highlight__image wp-image-202907\" alt=\"collage of Poole College student award winners\" src=\"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/424\/2024\/04\/StudentAwards_1500x844px.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/424\/2024\/04\/StudentAwards_1500x844px.png 1500w, https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/424\/2024\/04\/StudentAwards_1500x844px-300x170.png 300w, https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/424\/2024\/04\/StudentAwards_1500x844px-1024x579.png 1024w, https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/424\/2024\/04\/StudentAwards_1500x844px-768x434.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"highlight__text-container\"><h3 class=\"highlight__heading\">Poole College Announces Inaugural Student Award Winners<\/h3><p class=\"highlight__teaser\">From leadership to resilience to all-around excellence, these six students embody the college&#8217;s spirit \u2014 and our mission to make the world a better place to live and work.<\/p><p class=\"highlight__cta\"><span class=\"text\">Meet our award winners<\/span><span class=\"arrow-indicator\"><svg class=\"wolficon\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><use xlink:href=\"#wolficon-arrow-right-bold\" \/><\/svg><\/span><\/p><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His father taught high school computer science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy dad felt like all the kids were his responsibility. He really had a big heart relative to how he thought about helping them. He worked with anyone who wanted a summer job to get a summer job,\u201d Darden says.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His endowment for eastern North Carolina students will go beyond summer jobs to providing access to higher education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat\u2019s the basis for a lot of opportunities in life,\u201d he says. \u201cI hope it will support the full education process for someone at NC State.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the most significant parts of Darden\u2019s education process at NC State was his involvement in the <a href=\"https:\/\/careers.dasa.ncsu.edu\/overview\/\">Cooperative Education Program<\/a>. For three years, he alternated between a semester studying on campus full time and one working off campus for a company full time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was extremely helpful to go to school for a semester and then take some of the subjects I was learning and actually apply them in the real world,\u201d he says.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He worked for a business that made covers for medical equipment and was a medical supplier to hospitals. Darden designed covers, sold products at trade shows around the U.S., was involved in some of the manufacturing process, and helped manage some of the company\u2019s finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was great exposure to all aspects of running a business\u2026a really broad and unique experience,\u201d says Darden, now partner and head of infrastructure in the Americas at EQT Group, a global investment organization.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"has-custombg-one-text-color wp-block-ncst-pullquote\">\n  <div class=\"pullquote-container\">\n    <p class=\"pullquote-content\">It\u2019s important for us to give back to society and support the places that have been influential in our lives. <\/p>\n  <\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another highlight of his time at Poole was a business course on strategy, in which students ran their own businesses. \u201cWe made decisions, and the professor ran them through a simulator and told us how our companies were doing in terms of sales, how the product was doing in the market, and earnings and revenue for the year,\u201d he says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His team ended up consolidating an industry by taking over other student companies.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe course inspired you to think differently and act entrepreneurially, versus just reading a chapter in a book.&nbsp; Given that I do mergers and acquisitions and build companies on a daily basis now, maybe it actually inspired me to do what I do today,\u201d Darden says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His success has inspired him to make a difference in Poole students\u2019 futures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s important for us to give back to society and support the places that have been influential in our lives. NC State is one of the preeminent schools in giving the outstanding education that it does,\u201d Darden says. \u201cIt was a big part of my development. It\u2019s a big reason I\u2019ve been able to accomplish what I have in life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"<!-- wp:ncst\/dynamic-header {\"block\":\"ncst\/default-post-header\"} -->\n<!-- wp:ncst\/default-post-header {\"caption\":\"A treasured photo of Alex Darden with his father, Jim.\",\"displayCategoryID\":19,\"subtitle\":\"Alex Darden ('98, business administration) established two endowments in honor of his father to \\u0022make sure others have a similar opportunity\\u0022 to succeed at NC State. \"} \/-->\n<!-- \/wp:ncst\/dynamic-header -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Alex Darden didn\u2019t follow his father into the field of teaching. But he learned a lesson from him \u2014 and took a step to help many Poole College students pursue goals and transform their lives.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Darden, a 1998 <a href=\"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/undergraduate\/majors-and-minors\/business-administration\/\">Poole business administration<\/a> graduate, saw the power of giving from his dad\u2019s example. And now he\u2019s giving back to NC State.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>The two endowments Darden recently established for Poole, in honor of his father, Jim, include one that supports need-based students from eastern North Carolina. The other supports an awards program for undergraduates and graduate students that recognizes leadership, research and scholarship, innovation and other skills and contributions to the Poole community.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Award winners were celebrated at a ceremony at Poole on April 24.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cNC State was a foundational part of my life. It\u2019s important to try to make sure others have a similar opportunity. I also wanted a way to honor my dad. This seemed like a good opportunity to do that,\u201d says Darden, who grew up in Greenville, in eastern North Carolina, where his parents live.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:ncst\/highlight {\"teaser\":\"From leadership to resilience to all-around excellence, these six students embody the college's spirit \u2014 and our mission to make the world a better place to live and work.\",\"callToAction\":\"Meet our award winners\",\"imageID\":202907} -->\n<aside class=\"wp-block-ncst-highlight with-image\"><h2 class=\"highlight__label\">Related<\/h2><a href=\"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/19\/poole-college-announces-inaugural-student-award-winners\/\" class=\"highlight__link\" data-ua-cat=\"Highlight Block\" data-ua-action=\"Story Click\" data-ua-label=\"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/2024\/04\/19\/poole-college-announces-inaugural-student-award-winners\/\"><div class=\"highlight__image-container\"><div class=\"highlight__image-background\"><img class=\"highlight__image wp-image-202907\" alt=\"collage of Poole College student award winners\" src=\"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/424\/2024\/04\/StudentAwards_1500x844px.png\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"highlight__text-container\"><h3 class=\"highlight__heading\">Poole College Announces Inaugural Student Award Winners<\/h3><p class=\"highlight__teaser\">From leadership to resilience to all-around excellence, these six students embody the college's spirit \u2014 and our mission to make the world a better place to live and work.<\/p><p class=\"highlight__cta\"><span class=\"text\">Meet our award winners<\/span><span class=\"arrow-indicator\"><svg class=\"wolficon\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><use xlink:href=\"#wolficon-arrow-right-bold\" \/><\/svg><\/span><\/p><\/div><\/a><\/aside>\n<!-- \/wp:ncst\/highlight -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>His father taught high school computer science.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cMy dad felt like all the kids were his responsibility. He really had a big heart relative to how he thought about helping them. He worked with anyone who wanted a summer job to get a summer job,\u201d Darden says.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>His endowment for eastern North Carolina students will go beyond summer jobs to providing access to higher education.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the basis for a lot of opportunities in life,\u201d he says. \u201cI hope it will support the full education process for someone at NC State.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>One of the most significant parts of Darden\u2019s education process at NC State was his involvement in the <a href=\"https:\/\/careers.dasa.ncsu.edu\/overview\/\">Cooperative Education Program<\/a>. For three years, he alternated between a semester studying on campus full time and one working off campus for a company full time.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cIt was extremely helpful to go to school for a semester and then take some of the subjects I was learning and actually apply them in the real world,\u201d he says.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>He worked for a business that made covers for medical equipment and was a medical supplier to hospitals. Darden designed covers, sold products at trade shows around the U.S., was involved in some of the manufacturing process, and helped manage some of the company\u2019s finances.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cIt was great exposure to all aspects of running a business\u2026a really broad and unique experience,\u201d says Darden, now partner and head of infrastructure in the Americas at EQT Group, a global investment organization.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:ncst\/pullquote {\"value\":\"It\u2019s important for us to give back to society and support the places that have been influential in our lives. \"} -->\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-ncst-pullquote has-red-400-text-color\"><div class=\"pullquote-container\"><p class=\"pullquote-content\">It\u2019s important for us to give back to society and support the places that have been influential in our lives. <\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>\n<!-- \/wp:ncst\/pullquote -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>Another highlight of his time at Poole was a business course on strategy, in which students ran their own businesses. \u201cWe made decisions, and the professor ran them through a simulator and told us how our companies were doing in terms of sales, how the product was doing in the market, and earnings and revenue for the year,\u201d he says.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>His team ended up consolidating an industry by taking over other student companies.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cThe course inspired you to think differently and act entrepreneurially, versus just reading a chapter in a book.&nbsp; Given that I do mergers and acquisitions and build companies on a daily basis now, maybe it actually inspired me to do what I do today,\u201d Darden says.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>His success has inspired him to make a difference in Poole students\u2019 futures.<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->\n\n<!-- wp:paragraph -->\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s important for us to give back to society and support the places that have been influential in our lives. NC State is one of the preeminent schools in giving the outstanding education that it does,\u201d Darden says. \u201cIt was a big part of my development. It\u2019s a big reason I\u2019ve been able to accomplish what I have in life.\u201d<\/p>\n<!-- \/wp:paragraph -->"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alex Darden (&#8217;98, business administration) established two endowments in honor of his father to &#8220;make sure others have a similar opportunity&#8221; to succeed at NC State. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11164,"featured_media":206007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"Jess Clarke","ncst_show_custom_author":true,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"caption\":\"A treasured photo of Alex Darden with his father, Jim.\",\"displayCategoryID\":19,\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"subtitle\":\"Alex Darden ('98, business administration) established two endowments in honor of his father to \\\"make sure others have a similar opportunity\\\" to succeed at NC State. \"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,19,286,9],"tags":[38,1865,48],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-206005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-management","category-giving","category-newswire","category-students","tag-alumni","tag-department-of-business-management","tag-giving"],"displayCategory":{"term_id":19,"name":"Giving","slug":"giving","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Stories about Poole College philanthropy.","parent":0,"count":212,"filter":"raw"},"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206005"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":206083,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206005\/revisions\/206083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206005"},{"taxonomy":"_ncst_magazine_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poole.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_ncst_magazine_issue?post=206005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}