Dec. 11, 2002

About 2,880 students will receive degrees during Commencement ceremonies at North Carolina State University on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Following are short profiles of some of those students. The students' stories could add to your coverage of graduation activities or provide material for an interesting feature story.

Multiple Majors, Multiple Scholarships: The Life of Tomas Carbonell

Majoring in one field of study and winning one prestigious scholarship might be enough for some people. It's not for Tomas Carbonell.

The senior from Raleigh recently won the Marshall Scholarship, which pays university fees, cost of living expenses, an annual book grant, thesis grant, research and daily travel grants, and fares to and from the United States, for study at Oxford University, where he'll pursue dual master's degrees in economics for development and in environmental change and management.

But Carbonell has also won the Truman Scholarship, which he plans to utilize after his stay at Oxford.

The son of an NC State professor, Carbonell is not just a whiz in the classroom, where he'll garner bachelor's degrees in chemical engineering, multidisciplinary studies and economics. He's a leader in the truest sense of the word, whether he's serving as editor-in-chief of "Americana," an online student publication, or as special assistant to the student body president and co-chair of the Issues and Ideas Committee of the Union Activities Board.

He has completed internships with the Center for International Environmental Law and the international program of Environmental Defense in Washington, D.C., the Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, Calif., and the U.S. House of Representatives.
Among his many community service activities, Carbonell has served as a volunteer tutor for Hispanic children at the Central YMCA and St. Raphael's Elementary School in Raleigh. He previously worked on Habitat for Humanity projects in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala. Before attending Oxford, Carbonell will return to Guatemala this spring to serve as a volunteer coordinator for Habitat for Humanity, then will work this summer as an intern in the Environment and Natural Resources division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Carbonell can be reached at (919) 787-7356.

Student Speaker a "Boon" to NC State Family
For this year's student speaker, NC State has been a family affair.

Caitlin Suzanne Boon is the fifth person in her family to graduate from NC State. She even sported a Wolfpack bottle as an infant.

Boon has done both her family and NC State proud during her time in Raleigh. She has a 4.0 GPA in her double major of food and poultry science. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi and Gamma Sigma Delta honor societies, as well as a Caldwell Fellow and entered into the NC State Scholars program.

She has served as state vice president of the 4-H club and has won statewide oral presentation events on nine separate occasions. Boon has studied at Oxford University, participated in humanitarian missions with the Presbyterian Campus Ministry to Cuba and Mexico and has attended an International Youth Leadership Conference. She also tutors second through fifth graders from low-income homes as part of the YMCA's after-school program.
Boon can be reached at (919) 838-0521.

Grad Writes Book About a Gem of a Town - Hiddenite, N.C.

NC State's Adam Smith has written about valuable things, but not the wealth of nations.

Instead, the meteorology major has completed a book on the gems found in Hiddenite, N.C., a small town tucked in the foothills of Alexander County, N.C.

The book, "Hiddenite: Land of Discovery," is chock full of the town's mining history and myriad types of gems discovered - which include emerald, gold, platinum and silver - as well as local points of interest. The book is generating quite a buzz in western North Carolina. It's available in NC State's natural resources library in Jordan Hall, some western N.C. Barnes & Nobles stores, and may soon be available for purchase on Amazon.com.

He is also a Dean's Merit Award Scholarship recipient, a charter member of Delta Upsilon fraternity and member of the American Meteorological Society.

Smith is planning to attend a graduate program in climatology, but there's another pressing need first - he'll begin working on his second book next month.
Smith can be reached at (919) 838-6994 until Dec. 20. His cell phone number is (828) 238-5333.

NC State Doctorate Leads to Academic Appointment
He had a long career as district court administrator in Wisconsin's sixth judicial district, but it wasn't exactly the career he had in mind. Armed with a doctorate in education, he was unable to find a college teaching position in political science, public administration or criminal justice. So in 1999 Samuel Shelton gave up his job, applied to NC State, and accepted a graduate teaching assistantship in NC State's doctoral program in public administration.

The risky move paid off. Shelton is now an assistant professor of political science at Troy State University, and on his way to fulfilling his career goals as an academic. He teaches classes in American government, public policy and public personnel administration and management.

While at NC State, Shelton was named outstanding teaching assistant in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration for two consecutive years.

He is a member of the American Political Science Association and the American Society for Public Administration. He was also inducted into Pi Alpha Alpha, the national honor society for public affairs and administration.
Shelton can be reached at (334) 670-3754.

Grad Battles Speech Disfluency on Way to 4.0 GPA

While Wesley Cook has not always been able to speak clearly, his actions in the classroom have spoken for him perfectly.

A severe speech disfluency Cook has had since childhood threatened to keep him out of college, but the Vale, N.C., resident overcame the obstacles and his own fears to complete his NC State education as a valedictorian. He will graduate summa cum laude with a degree in accounting.

"I was quite apprehensive coming to college and beginning life on my own, because verbal interactions are very tough for me, no matter how minimal they may seem to everyone else," Cook said. "Nonetheless, I was dedicated to hard work and maintaining a strict focus on achieving my goals, which was to be successful academically, while managing to experience all of the new opportunities a college education offers. With that sense of direction, I was able to overcome my disfluency and still succeed in school and in my personal life."

Cook credits NC State's faculty with playing a big role in his success.

"The atmosphere at the College of Management is very open and friendly, allowing for an advantageous learning experience. I am so appreciative to the strong initiative here at NC State for students with disabilities and the length to which the university goes in seeing that everyone has an equal opportunity to learn and set a strong foundation for their professional careers after graduation."

Cook will spend this spring serving as a tax intern at the firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP, then plans to return to NC State to earn his master's in accounting and prepare for CPA certification.
Contact Wesley Cook.

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