13th Annual Sustainable Materials & Technology Undergraduate Banquet
Written by guest blogger: Max Craft, SMT Class of ’20
Every fall, students in the Sustainable Materials & Technology (SMT) program, their parents, faculty, staff, and donors come together for an annual celebration of student’s academic achievements. Held at the NC State University Club, the 13th Annual Undergraduate Banquet took place on Thursday evening of September 26th an was attended by over 120 guests. Three recent alumni shared words of wisdom from different industry perspectives, making it a particularly special evening.
Alumni share their experiences.
Nikki Hensley graduated in 2017 from the Sustainable Materials and Technology program. After graduating, her professional experience began as a researcher and project coordinator with Eli Global. She then decided to return to academia for a dual MBA, Supply Chain Managment Concentration and Forest Biomaterials graduate degree. She also works with Caterpillar supporting building construction products supply chain and transportation improvements. Like many SMT students, Nikki is fascinated with the correlation between sustainability and the business sector.
2016 graduate Conrad Michael joined Shaw Industries of South Pittsburg, Tennessee upon graduation. Shaw Industries Group, Inc. is one of the world’s largest flooring manufacturers with more than $6 billion in annual revenue and approximately 22,000 employees worldwide. Conrad has successfully progressed his career, now serving as a Technical Manager for Shaw in the engineered wood products division. As a Technical Manager, Conrad’s duties include: evaluating new raw materials, processing cost savings, and innovating new products and platforms.
Last but not least, Jeramy Williams ’18, the most recent graduate, spoke about his recent career pivot. Returning, after two internships, to J.E. Dunn Construction Company, Jeramy entered the workforce as a Project Engineer. Jeramy described that he was living in Atlanta, working for J.E.Dunn when he was contacted by an up-and-coming company back home in North Carolina, Wood Group PLC. The company installs large-scale solar panels and wanted Jeramy to move back home and become a Project Engineer for their Solar Energy Division. Jeramy exhibited great passion for solar energy, reminding the crowd that North Carolina is ranked second, after California, in its amount of installed solar power generating capacity with more than 4,100 megawatts.
Academic Excellence
Each year, thanks to our very generous donors, the Sustainable Materials & Technology is able to award students roughly 40% of its students with scholarship support. These are merit and need-based awards given to SMT students with outstanding academic achievements. This year 25 different scholarships were awarded with over 40 students receiving at least one scholarship. The A.G. Raymond Forest Products Scholarship Endowment, for example, was established in the fall of 2012 by Art Raymond, Jr. Senior Vice President of Hooker Furniture (read more).
Without our many gracious donors none of these scholarships would be possible, and for that we are very thankful. These scholarships have impacted so many student’s lives over the years, and they have been a huge blessing to the department as a whole. The success of the NCSU Sustainable Materials and Technologies program and its students and staff shone brightly at this year’s banquet. It is evident we are a family who share the same interests, passion for learning, desire to make NCSU proud, and most of all- to make the world a better place.