Meet the Spring 2025 Commencement Speakers

Two graduating students will deliver speeches at the College of Natural Resources’ Spring 2025 Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 2.

Sami Anthony and Kyle Zampogna will take the stage at Reynolds Coliseum to reflect on their personal journeys and share their perspectives.

Anthony, who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in paper science and engineering, will represent undergraduate students.

Zampogna, who is graduating with a master’s degree in fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology, will represent graduate students.

Anthony and Zampogna recently spoke with CNR News about their NC State experiences and what they hope to achieve going forward. Learn more below.

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Sami Anthony

During her time at NC State, Anthony was an active and engaged member of the College of Natural Resources community.

Not only did Anthony serve as a college ambassador, but she also served as a teaching assistant and recruitment intern for the Department of Forest Biomaterials. She also served the student chapter of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry and the Pulp and Paper Advisory Board.

Anthony’s commitment to service and academic success was recognized through honors such as the Park Scholarship, the Hasan Jameel Family Scholarship, and the Children of Wartime Veterans Scholarship.

When asked about her NC State experience, Anthony said the College of Natural Resources provided her with access to opportunities that “built the foundation for me to be an ethical engineer and advocate in my industry.”

One of those opportunities included the James Buzzard Leadership Development Program. The program helps College of Natural Resources students enhance their leadership skills through professional development, mentorship, field trips and other opportunities.

“The Buzzard Leadership Development Program was truly a highlight of my senior year,” Anthony said. “While I’ve participated in several leadership development programs as an undergraduate student, what set Buzzard apart was its interdisciplinary nature.”

She added, “I’ve been fortunate to learn from strong leaders and mentors within the pulp and paper industry, but connecting with peers across the College of Natural Resources brought an entirely new dimension to my leadership growth.”

Anthony said her participation in the program provided her with resources to navigate difficult conversations, foster culture, approach philanthropy, and grow emotional intelligence — all of which she considers “intangible skills that have made me a more well-rounded individual.”

The Paper Science and Engineering program, too, was vital to Anthony’s success. She credited the program’s emphasis on group work, hands-on lab experiments, business fundamentals and presentations skills as “essential.”

“As a high school senior, I did not think I’d find a major I’m truly passionate about but I’m incredibly lucky to say that I did. Choosing paper science has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” Anthony said.

She added, “The papermaking process felt overwhelming at first, but as I progressed through the curriculum, I began to love it. That excitement solidified my choice to pursue a career in engineering.”

Motivated by her passion for sustainability, Anthony completed three internships and co-ops with Smurfit Westrock. These hands-on experiences allowed her to apply classroom knowledge and develop skills in project management, data analysis, and manufacturing within a recycling mill environment.

“During my internships with Smurfit Westrock, I really came to appreciate how much the company values innovation, sustainability, and helping their interns grow,” Anthony said. “I had the freedom to try new things and take initiative, but I also knew there was a strong support system in place if I ever needed help.”

She added, “That balance between independence and mentorship made a big impression on me, and by the end of my third internship, it felt like a natural fit to return after graduation. I knew I’d be joining a company where I could continue growing, both personally and professionally, while still making an impact.”

Following graduation, Anthony will return to Smurfit Westrock in Cowpens, South Carolina as a full-time process engineer while pursuing an online master’s degree in engineering management at NC State. She looks forward to continuing her professional and academic journeys and hopes to one day return to NC State as a teaching professor.

Anthony thanked Eva Feucht, director of the Park Scholarships program, and Jennifer Piercy, assistant dean for philanthropy at the College of Natural Resoruces, for their guidance. She also thanked Shannon Lora, Brittany Hayes and Angie Rush of the Department of Forest Biomaterials and Elijah Gore and Jan Morgan of the Pulp and Paper Advisory Board for their support.

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Kyle Zampogna

Before enrolling at NC State, Zampogna earned a bachelor’s degree in wildlife and fisheries science from Penn State University in 2021. He then spent two years as an animal research technician with the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center.

Zampogna decided to pursue a master’s degree in fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology at NC State “because I knew it would open doors to meaningful careers in the wildlife science realm.” He was also excited to experience a different region of the country.

“Before moving here, I had never been in North Carolina. The unique plant communities, all of the animals I had never encountered, and the proximity to the ocean (and therefore seafood), were all selling points, and all surpassed my expectations,” Zampogna said.

During his time at NC State, Zampogna consistently demonstrated academic excellence and established himself as a capable urban wildlife ecologist. His graduate research project investigated the effects of urbanization on white-tailed deer fawn survival. He was advised by Lara Pacifici of the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources.

Zampogna said his research contributes important scientific information to the understanding of how white-tailed deer ecology is changing amid increasing rates of urbanization across the Southeast, providing wildlife managers and others with data for population modeling into the future.

Aside from his research, Zampogna earned the graduate school’s teaching certificate, geographic information systems certificate, and a remote pilot’s license from the Federal Aviation Administration. 

Zampogna also served as the president of the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources’ Graduate Student Organization for the 2024-25 academic year and as teaching assistant for a number of undergraduate courses.

When asked about his NC State experience, Zampogna said the College of Natural Resources’ small-knit community allowed him to quickly meet and befriend “so many people that positively impacted me in a lot of ways.”

“Remembering what I have learned from all of the friends I made through the College of Natural Resources will make me a better ecologist, film critic, communicator, cyclist, engineer, birder, mentor, and friend,” Zampogna said.

Zampogna thanked a number of faculty and staff, including Pacifici, for their support and guidance. He also extended a special note of “sincere appreciation” to Nathan Hostetter for his help in statistical analysis and coding.

Following graduation, Zampogna looks forward to contributing to the conservation of natural resources, inspiring young scientists and leaving the Earth better than he found it. He is currently searching for a job as either an ecologist, wildlife biologist or science educator, preferably in the state of New York.

“If I can help get young people interested in the natural world, I’d love to make a career out of that,” Zampogna said.