Young Alumni
The College of Engineering's Young Alumni Advisory Board (YAAB) is a group of college alumni who are up to 15 years post-graduation from their last degree earned. The board provides leadership and guidance in the areas of alumni engagement and fundraising for the dean
Young alumni are a growing population for the College of Engineering. Young alumni are defined by the College as 0 – 15 years post-graduation from the last degree earned. There are 24,395 young alumni and that makes up 36.2% of all College of Engineering alumni.
NC State Engineering continues to rise in the U.S. News and World Report rankings, and this is due in part to the quality of alumni, as well as their willingness to be engaged with the College, such as:
- Giving back to the College through financial contributions
- Volunteering their time
- Carrying the NC State Engineering reputation into their cities, communities and workplaces
Young alumnus follows mother’s example in giving back to NC State
Young alumni spotlight: Alberto Quiroga
Update Your Contact Information
One of the best ways to stay connected to the College is to ensure all of your information is up to date from your email to your mailing address.
A few things you can expect to receive:
- NC State Engineering magazine — highlights all the exciting things happening in the College from research to how alumni are giving back
- Invitations to special College events — this includes Homecoming, networking events, lecture series, etc.
Please use the short online form to provide us with any updates.
Get Connected
Fill out a short survey to select ways in which you hope to volunteer or be engaged with the College.
Join the Dean’s Circle
Join the College of Engineering Dean’s Circle at a discounted rate for Young Alumni.
Young Alumni Advisory Board (YAAB)
The NC State Engineering Foundation created the Young Alumni Advisory Board (YAAB) in 2018 to involve more young alumni with the College of Engineering and encourage their lifelong support.
The YAAB has 30 members, representing various engineering disciplines from NC State classes of 2003 and later. The board is made up of four committees, each with a chair:
- Events – Thalia Allen (MAE ’18)
- Communications – Christopher Bailey (MAE ’16)
- College Relations – Alberto Quiroga (MAE ’19)
- Development – Ashle Page (CBE ’17)
The inaugural board held its first networking event on May 22, 2018, to help establish the first annual Young Alumni and New Graduate Celebration. Check the YAAB events Web page and this page for future networking events and other opportunities.
Board Members
Patrick Carroll, ECE ’12
Maggie Wilbanks, MAE ’12
Maggie’s bio
Maggie Wilbanks, previously McDonald, is a NC native and a 2012 mechanical engineering alumna. Following graduation, Maggie pursued her masters degree in mechanical engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, but the Wolfpack never left her heart. She was an active participant in the Atlanta Wolfpack Club watch parties and would be the loudest fan in attendance at any NCSU v. GT sporting events. Following her time in Atlanta, pursuing her degree and then working at Enercon Services, Inc., she moved to Albuquerque, NM, with her husband, where they currently reside. Maggie is a member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories. In her spare time, she is a reality TV connoisseur and football fanatic. She will also humor her husband by going on hikes and attending live music events. Maggie is very excited to get involved with the Young Alumni Advisory Board to help give back to the university that molded her into who she is today.
Trevor Lawson, CBE ’13
Jordan Hjelmquist, BME ’14
Jordan’s bio
Jordan graduated Summa Cum Laude from NC State University with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. He has worked in the Pharmaceutical Industry in several different roles across International Tech Transfer, Global Engineering, Drug Substance and Drug Product Facility start ups, Clinical Process Development and most recently, leading a talented team manufacturing clinical and commercial Gene Therapy Drug Product for patients around the world. Jordan enjoys spending his time watching NC State Wolfpack Basketball and Football as well as spending time at the beach with friends and family.
Morgan Malick, CBE ’15
Morgan’s bio
Morgan is a Certified Professional Engineer (PE) in the state of North Carolina. He graduated from NC State in 2015, receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering with a minor in Biomanufacturing. He holds the current role of Manager of Manufacturing and Technical Operations, leading all commercial manufacturing and technical project activities at Veloxis Pharmaceuticals. Recently he held the role of Process Engineer at Novartis Gene Therapies, formerly AveXis, where he supported the site startup, qualification, development, and process engineering activities for the product Zolgensma® in addition to other clinical products at the Durham, North Carolina facility. Prior to AveXis, he spent about 5 years at CRB Consulting firm as a Process and Project Engineer supporting clients and contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) in developing and designing processes and equipment.
Christopher Bailey, MAE ’16
Darshan Divakaran, GIST ’16
Matt Pless, MAE ’16
Matt’s bio
Matt is a native of Concord, North Carolina, and a systems engineer at SAS.
His focus areas include cloud computing, machine learning, and data science in the financial services industry. During his time at NC State, he supported medical ultrasound research and served as a Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Ambassador. Matt lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his wife Lauren and enjoys exploring national parks, breweries, and coffee shops.
Connor Kennedy, CCEE ’17
Rachel Kennedy, ISE ’17
Ashle Page, CBE ’17
Michael Sanderson, CBE ’17
Thalia Allen, MAE ’18
Meredith Biechele, MAE ’18
Zac Lentz, BAE ’13, ’18
Samuel McInnis, MAE ’18
Samuel’s bio
Sam graduated from NC State with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Since graduating, Sam has served in a variety of manufacturing leadership roles in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry and is currently an Asset Leader for Clearwater Paper. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family, volunteering with the local high school football team, gardening, and other outdoor activities.
Tyler Ellington, MAE ’15, ’19
Alberto Quiroga, MAE ’19
Riddhiman Sherlekar, ISE ’19
Riddhiman’s bio
Riddhiman Sherlekar is an experienced Data Scientist with 4 years of experience in statistical and machine learning/AI methodologies and its applications in marketing and sales analytics. He graduated with a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from NC State University in 2019 and is based out of Raleigh, NC. In his free time, he likes to go for long distance runs and cook.
Caroline Baldauff, ISE ’21
Caroline’s bio
Caroline E. Baldauff is a 2021 industrial and systems engineering graduate from NC. While studying for her B.S., Caroline interned at SAS for 3 years and was hired as a software engineer upon graduation. She currently works as a platform engineer in the SAS Software as a Service (SaaS) Division, designing and writing cloud infrastructure. Caroline still resides in Raleigh and stays connected to the Wolfpack through the Stat Crew for Women’s basketball. She is thrilled to extend that connection by serving fellow and future alumni on the Young Alumni Activities Board. Go Pack!
Jack Halasz, ISE ’21
Jack’s bio
Jack is originally from Columbia, South Carolina and a senior consultant in EY’s Financial Services practice. His work focuses on go-to-market strategy and transformation initiatives for top financial institutions. During his time at NC State, Jack was involved in Student Government and Greek Life. He now lives in New York City and enjoys skiing, exploring cultural events, and traveling.
Charles Townsend, CCEE ’15, ’21
Abby Lampe, ISE ’22
Abby’s bio
Abby graduated from NC State in May of 2022, receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering. She holds the current role of an experienced Financial Services Associate with a focus on payments at PwC, helping financial institutions and companies with a myriad of different projects which have included a cost of payments analysis, international market assessment and strategy, and the integration of bank systems.
Contact Us
Questions?
Contact Hannah Kunkel, Assistant Director of Development, Alumni Engagement & Stewardship with the NC State Engineering Foundation, at 919.515.7458 or heallen3@ncsu.edu.