Three engineering students among 2022 Leader of the Pack Award finalists

Per Red and White Week tradition, NC State will crown its 2022 Leader of the Pack at the Homecoming football game versus Wake Forest on Saturday, Nov. 5. 

The Leader of the Pack program honors and recognizes students for outstanding contributions in leadership, scholarship and service. This program has long been a tradition on campus, dating back to the 1990s. While originally known as the Homecoming King and Queen Competition, the award transitioned to a more inclusive and equitable process — removing the gendered structure and focusing on scholarship, leadership, a commitment to creating an inclusive campus community, and service to the campus and broader community. 

Finalists are recognized at halftime of the Homecoming football game and attend the Chancellor’s pre-game reception. The student finalist with the highest GPA will receive a $250 gift certificate from the NC State Bookstores, and the student designated as “Leader of the Pack” will also receive a $3,000 scholarship and a class ring.

Voting for the 2022 Leader of the Pack will commence on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 8 a.m. and will end Thursday, Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. Students can vote at getinvolved.ncsu.edu.

Meet the Finalists

Devon Waterman

Born and raised in Greensboro, N.C., Devon is a fourth-year student studying business administration with a concentration in human resources and a double major in sociology. During his time at NC State, he has served as a Chancellor’s Aide, the president of the Society for Human Resource Management, a Career Ambassador, a board member and hearing assistant on the Student Conduct Board, and within multiple career centers on campus. He is very passionate about positively impacting and developing students both personally and professionally. He enjoys being the connector to resources that empower student success and make the NC State community greater in the process. After graduation, he will be working full-time with Capital One as a human resources rotational associate.

​​Elizabeth Beese

Elizabeth is a fourth-year majoring in Industrial Engineering from Raleigh, N.C. Her love for NC State has led her to become a leader in a multitude of areas at the university. During her time at NC State, Elizabeth was a three-term president for the Figure Skating Club Team, mentored for the Women Minority and Engineering Program through the Summer Exploration Experience, and founded two Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion boards for organizations impacting upwards of 1,500 women where she consistently works to improve the campus. She also participated in various clubs at NC State, most notable being the Society of Women Engineers, the Native American Student Association and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society. Elizabeth is passionate about raising awareness to topics that feel more hidden to marginalized communities. To enhance that initiative, she has worked to raise money for Prevent Child Abuse America (PCAA), which is the oldest and largest organization committed to preventing child abuse and negelect. She also raises money for Safe Child Raleigh, which is the local branch of PCAA. Along with that, Elizabeth works to raise awarness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, a topic that resignates deeply with her as a member of the Native American community.

Madison Darley 

Madison is a Goodnight Scholar from Charlotte, N.C. in her fourth year studying biological sciences with a concentration in human biology and a minor in psychology. Throughout her time at NC State, she has served as the Black Students Board chair, Black Students Board vice chair, Queen in You chief of staff, on the Service Raleigh Site Leader Committee, and as the vice president of her chapter. She currently continues to serve as an undergraduate research assistant in the STEM Build Lab, a Goodnight Ambassador, a Goodnight Mentor, and president of the Knockout Kappa Omicron Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Madison is passionate about diversifying the face of medicine in order to improve the treatment as well as quality of life for all patients. After graduation, she will be obtaining her master’s degree while also preparing to apply for medical school.

Minh-Thu Dinh

Born in Charlotte, N.C., Minh-Thu is a Goodnight Scholar majoring in electrical engineering with a Renewable Electric Energy Systems concentration. During her time at NC State, she has served as a founder and coordinator of CRANE Collective, an Asian American organization focused on critical narratives, community engagement and creative expression. Minh-Thu also has served as a Goodnight Scholars outreach ambassador and mentor; University Theatre volunteer and writer; and a Vietnamese Student Association family leader, script writer and mentor. She has participated in two Alternative Service Break trips focused on STEM outreach for youth across North Carolina, and has interned for a non-profit based on Asian American voting engagement. Minh-Thu is passionate about creating accessible education and inclusive spaces for marginalized communities. After graduation, she will be working full time as a power systems engineer at Eaton Corporation while exploring Asian American history in her free time.

Rachel Raineri 

Rachel lives her life as an opportunity. Upon completing her B.S. in textile engineering at NC State in 2018, she lived in Spain where she taught both English and Spanish and discovered a passion for biomimicry. Now, back at the Wilson College of Textiles working on her master’s in textile engineering and her doctorate in fiber and polymer science, her research focuses on green chemistry for the production of plant-based fibers. In her six years and counting at NC State, some of Rachel’s roles on campus have been resident advisor, co-founder and president of the NC State Chapter of Food Recovery Network, event coordinator for Textile Engineering Society, academic tutor at the Wilson College of Textiles, student maintenance worker, student liaison for VOLAR (Voluntarios Ahora en Raleigh), mentor for Girls Engineering Change, president of Textile Association of Graduate Students and secretariat of the first annual Evolving Textiles Conference.

Zachary VanHekken 

Originally from Grand Rapids, Mich., Zach is a fourth-year Park Scholar studying chemistry and science education and minoring in Spanish and science communications. At NC State, Zach has been an Alternative Service Break leader, a chairperson of Service Raleigh’s community involvement committee, a peer mentorship co-director for the Park Scholarship, and a TA for COM 466: Nonprofit Leadership and Development. In addition, he has served as the Leadership Development Program intern in Student Leadership and Engagement, as an admission intern with Undergraduate Admissions, as a University Honors Program Ambassador, and as the Class of 2023 representative on the NC State Quality Enhancement Proposal Review committee. Finally, over his academic career, Zach has interned with the Dementia Alliance of N.C., the Teaching Fellows of N.C., and Bandwidth Inc. Zach is passionate about helping others find their leadership potential and develop it to create positive change in his community. Following graduation, Zach plans to use his experiences in either graduate school or a full-time career coaching teams and individuals to be more agile when developing new products.

This post was originally published in DASA.