The funds will help the program\u2019s undergraduates benefit from spending time outside of the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTravel gives you a global perspective you can\u2019t get otherwise. No matter where you are in the world, we\u2019re all just trying to get along in life, eat good food and be with loved ones,\u201d Adam said. \u201cI\u2019ve been to Russia, China, parts of Asia and all throughout Europe, and \u2014governments and ideologies aside \u2014 people are pretty much the same everywhere. That was an eye-opening experience for me.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through an initial $50,000 gift, the couple is opening the door to similar epiphanies in students for years to come. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finding Their Way to Generosity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nNow in their early 30s, Adam and Jess met in a chemical engineering class during their sophomore year. Adam came from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and Jess from Charlotte. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a stroke of early luck, Adam had caught the attention of Med Byrd<\/a>, who invited the as-yet-undeclared engineering major for a tour of the pulp and paper lab \u2014 changing the course of his academic, personal and professional life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cI was impressed with the professors, the small class sizes and the industry-oriented labs. And they offered me a scholarship, which helped sway my decision. I took it hook, line and sinker,\u201d said Adam, who would go on to earn a dual undergraduate degree in paper science and engineering and chemical engineering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike Adam, Jess always knew what she wanted to be. She would go on to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree in chemical engineering with a concentration in biomanufacturing, and eventually, an MBA at Virginia Commonwealth University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn every interest I had, I could see how chemical engineers could do something with it, and there\u2019s no better engineering school in North Carolina than NC State. I did get scholarships, too, including a Goodnight Scholarship<\/a>, which was a large part of my college experience,\u201d Jess said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/06\/adam-jess-durham-nc-1500x844-1-1024x576.jpeg\")
<\/a>Adam and Jess at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham, North Carolina. Photo provided<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nTen years after graduation, Adam is establishing a turbine generator program at Smurfit Westrock<\/a>, a job he said his education fully prepared him to execute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cThe College of Natural Resources and the Paper Science and Engineering program are very geared toward applied engineering and industry, rather than research and development. A lot of the professors come from industry. The classes I took had hands-on labs, and they directly scaled to what I’ve done in professional life: problem solving and working in the mill,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was impressed with the professors, the small class sizes and the industry-oriented labs. And they offered me a scholarship, which helped sway my decision. I took it hook, line and sinker,\u201d said Adam, who would go on to earn a dual undergraduate degree in paper science and engineering and chemical engineering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike Adam, Jess always knew what she wanted to be. She would go on to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree in chemical engineering with a concentration in biomanufacturing, and eventually, an MBA at Virginia Commonwealth University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn every interest I had, I could see how chemical engineers could do something with it, and there\u2019s no better engineering school in North Carolina than NC State. I did get scholarships, too, including a Goodnight Scholarship<\/a>, which was a large part of my college experience,\u201d Jess said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ten years after graduation, Adam is establishing a turbine generator program at Smurfit Westrock<\/a>, a job he said his education fully prepared him to execute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe College of Natural Resources and the Paper Science and Engineering program are very geared toward applied engineering and industry, rather than research and development. A lot of the professors come from industry. The classes I took had hands-on labs, and they directly scaled to what I’ve done in professional life: problem solving and working in the mill,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>