Engaging Leaders Program
The College of Natural Resources (CNR) Engaging Leaders Program aims to develop students by equipping them with the confidence and capacity to collaborate with new communities.
Each year, we select up to 20 students to participate this unique program. Students do not need to have prior leadership experience, and we value students with a strong desire to grow personally and professionally. The program is open to freshman, off-campus transfer and on-campus transfer students.
About the Program
Throughout the year, Engaging Leaders attend sessions to help them better understand their personal leadership style, strengths and weaknesses. They also learn essential skills for working in groups, communicating effectively, and project planning.
Benefits of Becoming an Engaging Leader
- Become part of our supportive EL community and build relationships with your CNR peers from around the country and the world
- Learn how you can best utilize and improve your unique skills and strengths to prepare you for future leadership positions both on campus and in the professional world
- Enhance your ability to encourage and cultivate community and student success as both a leader and group member
- Understand different communication styles and develop the skills necessary to work and communicate well with a variety of individuals
- Get connected to community service, professional development, and academic opportunities around the college and all of NC State
- Learn professionalism for academic and work environments, and the skills you need to impress future employers
Key Components of the Program Include:
- Membership in a supportive community of dedicated leaders representing all majors within CNR
- One-on-one mentorship with a Buzzard Fellow
- Tools to help identify personal leadership styles, strengths, and cultural skills
- Mentoring and guidance from a coordinator
- Monthly leadership seminars
- Engagement activities such as a networking dinner
Introducing our newest gathering space for students, faculty and staff: The Floating Grove. ✨
What started out as a vision for a bus shelter has evolved into a campus pavilion that now serves as a hub for sustainability, student engagement and innovative design.
Nearly two years ago, Dr. Frederik Laleicke, an associate professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Forest Biomaterials, pitched the idea of building a bus shelter made of cross-laminated timber. Dr. Rico Ruffino, an assistant professor of the practice in the Department of Forest Biomaterials, who has extensive experience in industrial and product design, agreed to help.
🔗: Read the full story in the link in our bio.
📸: The Floating Grove, located between Biltmore Hall and Jordan Hall, stands as the campus’s first mass timber structure. Dr. Ruffino and students in his Sustainable Design Lab have been working on cross-laminated timber stool bases to be installed at The Floating Grove.
Earlier this week, students in the James Buzzard Leadership Development Program met with Kevin Howell, @ncstate`s newest Chancellor, and #NCStateCNR`s Dean Myron Floyd. 🐺🐾
During this unique evening, Howell and Floyd talked about their leadership experiences and shared important advice on success in growing as a leader.
Our own Katherine Griffey ’26 recently spoke to students about their tips for getting an internship and tips for a successful interview. Check out what they had to say. 💼
The ribbon has been cut! 🎉 Yesterday afternoon, #NCStateCNR and @NCStateDesign celebrated the unveiling of The Floating Grove, @NCState’s first mass timber structure on campus.
During the celebration, remarks were given by students and college leaders, including our very own Dean Myron Floyd and the College of Design’s Dean Mark Hoversten. This new installation, situated between Biltmore and Jordan halls, was born from the seed of an idea in the college and brought to life through the work of design students. The structure was built using sustainable materials like cross-laminated timber, also known as CLT. CLT is an engineered wood product that offers significant structural and environmental benefits compared to traditional building materials.
“The Floating Grove embodies our university’s commitment to a more collaborative, sustainable and resilient future. It’s a place where people can gather and hopefully be reminded of how deeply our natural and built environments are intertwined.” —Dean Myron Floyd
Yesterday, we hosted the 2025 Frederick and Joan Barkalow Distinguished Conservationist Lecture. This year’s lecture featured Dr. Whit Gibbons, a professor emeritus of ecology at the University of Georgia and the former head of the environmental outreach and education program at Savannah River Ecology Laboratory.
Open to the public, this annual lecture features the work of a conservationist selected by fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology (@ncstatefer) students.
#NCStateCNR’s Marley Kelly gives us a behind-the-scenes look at a day in Washington D.C. with the James Buzzard Leadership Fellows. 🌆🐾
Kelley is a senior majoring in fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology in @ncstatefer and a 2025-26 Buzzard Fellow. She also serves as the president of the @leopoldwildlifeclub and as a peer mentor for @ncstatetriocollegiate.
🔗 Learn about the Buzzard Fellows program through the link in our bio.
Over the fall break, students in the Buzzard Fellows program took a trip to Washington, D.C. 🏙️
The D.C. networking trip is an intensive leadership experience where students meet with professionals in government and industry to learn about leadership, policy and career paths. During their trip, students visited the British Embassy, the National Academy of Sciences, George Washington University and the National Alliance of Forest Owners.
More memories from this year’s Open House. ❤️🤍 @applyncstate
Join us next week for the 2025 Frederick and Joan Barkalow Distinguished Conservationist Lecture! Open to the public, this year’s lecture will feature the work of Dr. Whit Gibbons.
As a herpetologist, Dr. Gibbons is a professor emeritus of ecology at the University of Georgia and the former head of the environmental outreach and education program at Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. His lecture will be centered around “Turtle Tales from a Long Life in the Slow Lane: Mysteries and Discoveries in a Never-Ending Story.”
📅: Wednesday, Oct. 29
⏰: Doors open at 3 p.m.; Lecture: 3:30-4:30 p.m.
📍: Witherspoon Student Center, Room 126
🔗: Learn more about this year`s lecture at the link in our bio.
We had an amazing time meeting prospective members of the Pack at this weekend’s Open House. 🐺 🐾
In attendance were approximately 700 prospective College of Natural Resources students and their families.
@applyncstate
From an early love for "creepy crawlies" to stewarding local natural resources, alumnus Thomas Reed `19 has had quite the journey.
Today, Reed serves as the manager of the Wake County Open Space program. In his role, he oversees three nature preserves and nearly 10,000 acres of conservation land.
“Ever since I was a kid, I always had kind of this love for the unloved, so things that people typically consider creepy crawlies — the insects, reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, kind of all the stuff that people tend not to like. I’m not really sure what drew me towards them, but I’ve always just really enjoyed them. I think they just don’t get the appreciation that they deserve.”
Check out the link in our bio to learn about Reed`s journey and career today.
Congratulations to Jonathan Morizet-Davis, who was recently selected as the recipient of the second annual Peter W. Hart Graduate Student Award! 🎉
Jonathan is a P.h.D. candidate in the Department of Forest Biomaterials (@ncstatefb). He has been a part of several professional graduate teams and organizations, such as the Sustainable Innovation Lab and the “A Gift Seed” project led by our Christmas Tree Genetics Program.
Click the link in our bio to learn more about Jonathan`s journey in #NCStateCNR.
📸: Jonathan Morizet-Davis presenting his work at the American Center for Life Cycle Assessment Conference last month
