NC State Feature Stories

Stories From 2009 — Page 2

Voice of the Pack

Ed Funkhouser is regarded by his colleagues as one of the Department of Communication's top faculty members - a veteran educator with decades of experience he shares with his students. But when it's time for Wolfpack football and women's basketball games, Funkhouser moves out of the classroom and behind the microphone to communicate with fans on a whole other level.

Animated Alumni

Animation entrepreneurs Jason ('97) and Michael ('99) Carpenter believe NC State's College of Design is the "greatest place ever," and the two brothers credit the College for giving their careers a successful start.

The 22nd-Century Library

Armed with aspirations of doubling the amount of library seating space available to NC State students, university officials and dignitaries from around the state have broken ground on a state-of-the-art, Centennial Campus-based facility that will undoubtedly set the standard for libraries constructed during this century and beyond.

Inspired Ambition

NC State senior Marquis McCullough isn't the type of person to sit around and wait for things to happen, so when he attended a pre-college leadership program held at NC State University, he found a campus full of like-minded students he could relate to.

Keeter Time

Friday’s Red Rally event signifies more than the beginning of another season of NC State basketball – it’s a time for the NC State community to rally together and support one of its own. Former walk-on and four-year letterman Brian Keeter (’99-’02), who endeared himself to Wolfpack fans through hard work and a knack for piling up the points late in NC State victories, plans to return to campus for the first time since a December 2008, single-car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.

Humble Hero

Rocket attacks. Kidnapping threats. Suicide bombers. Life was not easy for Dr. John Muth during his recent tour of duty as a U.S. Navy reservist in Iraq. For 12 months, the electrical and computer engineering professor negotiated Iraq’s violence and sticky politics as he led a team of 30 civilians, military personnel and translators providing advice and support to the nation’s Ministry of the Interior. His efforts did not go unnoticed. Earlier this spring, Muth received a Bronze Star for his service, which included performing more than 100 missions in dangerous situations, installing a system of human rights inspections at pretrial detention centers and setting up the ministry’s court system.

On the Rise

If you watch Grey’s Anatomy or Ghost Whisperer, chances are you’ve heard the music of Kyler England (’98). Since her days as a Caldwell Fellow, England has flourished in the alternative rock music scene in Los Angeles and was named one of Music Connection’s Hot 100 Unsigned Artist of 2007. Her songs from her latest album, Simple Machine—her fifth studio release—have popped up on numerous TV shows and earned her a spot as a finalist for Indie Acoustic Project’s 2008 Best Female Songwriter. She’s also a member of The Rescues, a band that the California-based Easy Reader independent newspaper described as the “first Indie supergroup.”

Setting the Stage

U2’s much-anticipated appearance on campus Oct. 3 will not only mark the end of Carter-Finley Stadium’s 11-year hiatus from holding special events, it will also highlight NC State and U2 lead singer Bono’s shared passion for environmental issues while helping to bring more than 1,500 temporary jobs to workers in our community.

Energizing Physics

Physicist Bob Beichner is no stranger to mixing things up in the lab or in the classroom. His innovative teaching methods have been fine tuned over the past decade into a system called SCALE UP – Student Centered Activities for Large Enrollment Undergraduate Programs – and adopted in one form or another at more than 50 universities across the United States, including Clemson, the University of Alabama and MIT. Beichner’s philosophy is that students learn better through hands-on activities – a philosophy that's been borne out by research and in practice.

Cousins Who Serve

First Lieutenant Christopher Young has never needed to write a letter to the parents of one of his Marines, explaining why their son won't be coming home from Afghanistan. And that's why the former NC State football player from Raleigh was recently awarded the Bronze Star for bravery – protecting his platoon during a hellacious month in Afghanistan's southern Helmand Province. Some of the support Young received while in the field came from a squadron of Cobra attack helicopters – just like the one his cousin, Captain Drew Wimsatt, was flying over the region. Wimsatt, a defensive end for the Wolfpack from 2000-02, has completed several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and recently sent NC State head football coach Tom O'Brien, a former Marine officer, a flag that Wimsatt kept in the cockpit of his helicopter.

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