In the fall of 1996, the first class of Park Scholars arrived at NC State, beginning an academic journey aided by generous financial support and grounded in the program’s four pillars of leadership, scholarship, character and service.

The foundation is simple. The impact has been extraordinary.

This fall, NC State welcomed its 30th class of Park Scholars. These students join nearly 1,300 current scholars and alumni who have benefited from the program. In turn, this group gives back to the university, the community and the world — not only during their time as students but long after graduation. 

The Park impact is something people notice.

In April 2025, Greg Mulholland ’07 spoke to the NC State Board of Trustees and shared how Park Scholarships played a formative role in his development into a successful entrepreneur. 

He left an enduring impression — not only of his success but also of Park. 

“Greg Mulholland’s presentation to the Board of Trustees was a perfect example of the value of the Park Scholarship. His groundbreaking work has led to the creation of better materials and chemical products,” said board member David Powers.

“There are hundreds of similar stories about the impact Park Scholars have made on business, science, engineering, technology, education, design, agriculture and so many other areas. Park Scholars are a shining example of NC State’s leading role in our state and nation.”

How do they do it? That’s easy: the four pillars.

The Beginning

To get the full picture of the Park Scholarships program, we have to travel back nearly a century, to 1931. That’s the year Roy H. Park graduated from NC State. Hailing from Dobson, N.C., he leveraged his education — and experiences, including serving as editor of student newspaper Technician — into a successful communications career. 

Park stayed involved with his alma mater until he passed away in 1993, and in 1996, his wife Dorothy made a grant through the foundation established in his name to create the Park Scholarships program. The goal was clear: to bring outstanding students committed to leadership, scholarship, character and service to NC State. The first Park Scholars cohort arrived on campus that fall. 

While philanthropy is not one of the four core pillars of the program, it has fueled Park’s success. In 2013, after nearly 20 years of supporting the program through annual grants, the Park Foundation made a $50 million commitment — at the time the largest in university history — to establish an endowment. When combined with others’ support, this gift would ensure the Park Scholarships program’s long-term sustainability. 

Like the program itself, Park philanthropy is a group effort. The program’s 30 classes have enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy, the full range of opportunities being a Park Scholar affords — including enrichment grants, retreats, learning labs and mentoring — with the support of gifts of all sizes. 

And the thing about a gift to the Park Scholarships program is that its impact extends far beyond campus — and long after graduation.

Leadership On Campus and Off

Sometimes leadership means standing in front and leading, like the six Park Scholars who have served as student body presidents, or former executive director of Feed the Pack Food Pantry Jayna Lennon ’20. And that’s not to mention the many recipients of Mathews Medals — NC State’s highest nonacademic honor that recognizes student leaders — in the program’s ranks, most recently Rose Amburose ’25 and Freddy Kelley ’25. 

Sometimes leadership is something quieter, like furthering your education after seeing too many students fall out of love with learning math. That’s what Margaret Borden ’15 did when she became the first Park Scholar to earn a Ph.D. from the College of Education this year. 

“Every day, I get to go to work and do something that makes a long-term investment to help the world.”

Eva Feucht ’02

Director, Park Scholarships Program

In the Park Scholarships program, leadership choices are as unique as the scholars themselves. 

Some scholars choose to smooth the path for future students. In 2020, inspired by her own experiences as a first-generation college student, Sam Dotson ’24 co-founded Park Under-Resourced Assistance (PURA) to help students from low-income high schools and under-resourced communities navigate the college admissions process. 

In PURA’s first year, 32 Park Scholars offered feedback and advice ranging from approaching essays to help with business attire to 39 high schoolers. Since then, PURA has helped more than 100 students apply to both NC State and the Park Scholarships program.

There’s the entrepreneurial path as well. Park Scholar alumni lead the way in innovation with companies like Arin’s Good Girl Dog Treats (Abigail Wucherer ’23), Sani (Ritika Shamdasani ’23), Reborn and Beer to Bags (Emily Neville ’20), Stage Door Dance (Chasta Hamilton ’07) and Citrine Informatics (Greg Mulholland ’07).

Leadership can also mean coming back to NC State. Julie Smith ’06 — recently recognized with a 2025 Women in Business award — leads the university as the vice chancellor for external affairs, partnerships and economic development. Eva Feucht ’02 leads every day as the director of the Park Scholarships program, supporting hundreds of students through personal, academic and professional growth. She joined the staff in 2004 and has directed the program since 2008.

“To be able to work with talented, civic-minded students who have as much ability as they have heart — it’s an incredible thing,” said Feucht. “Every day, I get to go to work and do something that makes a long-term investment to help the world.”

Scholarship In Action

The unique experiences and perspectives each Park Scholar brings to their cohort helps make the program so enriching. But if there’s one thing each scholar shares, it’s a commitment to intellectual curiosity.

To date, the program counts among its ranks six Boren Scholars, four Churchill Scholars, nine Fulbright Scholars, 20 Goldwater Scholars, four Knight-Hennessy Scholars, two Marshall Scholars and three Truman Scholars.

Many alumni continue their scholarly endeavors as part of their career path, holding leadership positions in academia, global health and government research to advance their fields of study and pave the way for future students.

However, Park Scholars don’t need to wait until graduation to make a difference in their fields. Cade Brady ’26, a Goldwater Scholar working in chemical biology, is one example. Brady studies molecules known as terpenes, which are common in nature and have medical properties when combined with other materials. His research focuses on making this process less expensive and more accessible — which could lead to incredible health benefits. 

Of course, learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Each cohort is advised by Park Faculty Scholars, who provide guidance and support — academically and otherwise — throughout a student’s four-year journey. 

“If you are serious about the vocation of teaching and learning while impacting the next generation of great thought leaders, then there is no better community to be a part of than the Park Scholarships program,” said Kanton T. Reynolds, director of undergraduate programs and associate teaching professor in the Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Reynolds previously served as a Park Faculty Scholar for two classes and recently concluded his tenure as chair of the Park Advisory Committee. 

“One of the most invigorating things for me is to have these deeply profound conversations and engagement on both contemporary and emerging topics with students who have done their own research, investigated systems and collected data, all while forming their own conclusions. They find new and innovative ways to join their interests both inside and outside of the classroom,” Reynolds added. “Park Scholars absolutely elevate the Think and Do mantra of NC State, and I’m grateful to have been a part of the journey.”

The program’s rigorous and engaging academic commitment benefits the entire university. Because Park Scholars can come from out of state, the scholarship is a powerful recruiting tool to bring students from across the country to NC State and to North Carolina. And no matter where in- or out-of-state students go next, they represent the excellence of an NC State education.

Character Matters

If you’re in the Raleigh area, chances are you’ve heard of 321 Coffee. Maybe you’ve even been to its Centennial Campus location. 

What’s now an ever-expanding business started as a pop-up shop in 2017 co-founded by Park Scholars Lindsay Wrege and Michael Evans, both Class of 2021 alumni. Wrege saw an opportunity to build connections and provide work opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and the business now provides meaningful employment to more than 50 people. 

This kind of commitment to community? That’s character.

Character is also the force behind one of NC State’s most famous traditions: the Krispy Kreme Challenge. The race began as a dare between some Park Scholars and their friends back in 2004. With a national spotlight on the challenge to run 2.5 miles to Krispy Kreme, eat a dozen donuts and run back, the race organizers decided to use the attention for good and raise money for UNC Children’s Hospital. 

To date, the race has raised more than $2 million and has inspired dozens of NC State students within and beyond the Park Scholarships program to help lead the effort each year. 

Character is also part of the legacy Park Scholars leave when they graduate. Inspired by the investment made in them, students and alumni give back to NC State and to the greater Raleigh community. In 2021, the senior class legacy gift was raising money for the Employee Dependent’s Tuition Scholarship, which provides annual support to the children of NC State employees. Each student selected an employee to honor with their gift, from professors to dining staff to Counseling Center employees. 

Other legacy gifts include:

• Class of 2020: commercial refrigerators and freezers for Urban Ministries of Wake County
• Class of 2019: support for Harmony Playground in Clayton, which fosters fun and friends for students of all abilities
• Class of 2014: support for a new endowment for Park Enrichment Grants, ensuring future students have access to high-impact experiences
• Class of 2013: sponsorship for a Habitat for Humanity Home

The lifelong relationships scholars build with one another is also rooted in character. 

“Program applicants often ask, how do students treat each other? I’m happy that’s something increasingly on the radar of high school students. That matters. But it’s an easy answer at NC State,” Feucht said. “This is a place that is as kind and caring as it is exceptional.”

Service At the Core

What do Italy, Portugal, Alaska, the Dominican Republic, Peru and Guatemala have in common? They’re all places where  Park Scholars completed Alternative Service Breaks and volunteer trips in the spring 2025 semester, thanks to support from Park Enrichment Grants.

These grants, which fund academic, professional and personal development, are just one way Park Scholars dedicate themselves to service.

And service is a tradition: For more than 20 years, Park Scholars have led the Service Raleigh initiative, often partnering with the Goodnight Scholarships program and NC State student government for a single day of undertaking projects across the community. Service Raleigh generates roughly 1,500 service hours each year to benefit the people throughout Wake County. 

Balancing a demanding course load, leadership opportunities and service can be a challenge for any student. Park Faculty Scholars can provide insight and mentorship.

“For example, every summer that we have operated the Rwanda Summer Study Abroad program, we have had a Park Scholar involved,” Reynolds said. One participant found a way to combine her interest in electrical engineering and giving back by raising funds for a solar energy system, while another shared her Latinx heritage with students who had never met a native Spanish speaker. 

“It is everything that we expect from our Park Scholars: to always lead with service to others, especially our campus community, in mind,” Reynolds said.

For some Park Scholars, service also represents a career path. Tommy Vitolo ’00 has served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 2019, most recently bringing five bills into law. Cory Blankenship ’07 served his community as tribal treasurer and finance director for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and was named executive director of the Native American Finance Officers Association in 2024.

In 2024, Freddy Kelley ‘25 and Pallavi Patil ‘25 were awarded the Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship, a national program that hosts select undergraduates for a summer at top public policy graduate programs to network and develop knowledge for a career in public service.

Whether at home or abroad, a career or a project, Park Scholars make a difference in their own ways, every day. And that call to serve extends to giving back to the program. Alumni serve on the Park Scholarships selection committee and as mentors to current students, ensuring the next 30 years — and beyond — will be even more extraordinary. 

The Future

The 30th class of Park Scholars enters a different program than the first class did. They have sophomore, junior and senior classmates to turn to for guidance, for one thing, and a robust network of alumni ready to support them. They benefit from a dedicated staff who know what it’s like to walk the Brickyard in their shoes. 

And the 30th class has even more philanthropic power behind them.

Each year, alumni, parents and friends of the program give back through endowed and immediate-use gifts that sustain current operations in a time of rising costs and ensure that future scholars can enjoy the same formative opportunities. The program recently celebrated its 12th endowed scholarship, which provides perpetual, consistent funding for half the total cost of one Park Scholar’s attendance. 

In early 2025, the Park Scholarships program announced a new partnership with the Stamps Scholars Program. Now, eligible new current-use and endowment income gifts to the Park Scholarships program will receive a 100% match from Stamps, providing the program with an important new source of support and creating an inspiring opportunity for donors to see their gifts have a greater impact.

“It’s really a living legacy, truly, when you think about the meaning of an endowed scholarship, that there is permanent support to continue to invest in bright young people,” said Feucht. “To invest in their education, to provide them the support of a world-class university, and prepare them to make a difference at scale — it’s truly extraordinary. There’s really nothing else like it.”

The future of the Park Scholarships program is brighter than ever. And for all the changes over 30 classes, there’s one thing that remains steady: a commitment to leadership, scholarship, character and service.