The Libraries’ annual Donors & Scholars event spotlights the significance of legacy

The NC State University Libraries student scholarship awardees and scholarship donors gathered in the Hunt Library’s Duke Energy Hall for a Donors & Scholars reception on February 22.

The Libraries awards a number of part-scholarships every year to our outstanding Libraries student workers as part of a concerted effort to support student success and affordability. Since 2018, we've awarded 60 scholarships of varying amounts to 37 students. For the academic year 2023–24, philanthropic support for the Libraries Student Scholarship Fund has allowed us to support 18 of our talented students with scholarship support worth $67,760 in total.

The reception opened with a welcome speech from Senior Vice Provost and Director of Libraries Greg Raschke.

“Tonight’s event is quickly becoming one of my favorite nights on the Libraries calendar, because we are here to honor both our donors and scholars,” Raschke said. “Libraries typically haven’t provided scholarships the way colleges and departments have. Our goal, over the past five years, has been to change that, and for the NC State University Libraries to be leaders in the academic library world by creating a robust scholarship program available to our over 200 student workers.”

“For us, an event like this means that the Libraries has started to make good on its promise of providing students with experiential learning opportunities while making higher education more affordable for them.”

After Raschke thanked the scholarship donors, he introduced one of them—Mark Bailey who, with his husband Stephen Edgerton, recently created a Libraries Student scholarship endowment after being inspired by the Donors and Scholars event last year.

Bailey grew up in the Raleigh area and got an Education degree from UNC-Chapel Hill. While working for Wake County Public Schools, he studied at NC State, attaining both a Master’s in Education, specializing in Learning Disabilities, and a certificate in Education Supervision. After nine years of teaching, he switched careers to work for a medical device company, eventually finding his way into management. Over a career in which he managed international teams, he realized that his lifelong interest in education formed his philosophy of management. And he and Edgerton realized that they wanted to give something back to the education of the next generation.

“Given our belief that education is one of the greatest gifts, we were most pleased to have become acquainted with the Libraries,” Bailey said. “We had lived two blocks from the Hill Library for 25 years. But work and other obligations have kept us from fully exploring how we might get involved with our neighbor.”

“Besides our current use and legacy funding, we have been able to interact with students and staff at the Libraries. We are very pleased to have a current impact on the lives of students today and feel very fortunate to be able to have a lasting impact on the future of our young fellow travelers.”

Then, Bailey introduced Carmella Hawkins, the student who inspired them to support the Libraries. Hawkins is a senior studying computer engineering, and she works in the Access Services department at the Libraries. She has worked directly with the bookBot at the Hunt Library, which she found daunting initially, but now she’s a total pro. After graduation, Carmella plans to pursue a career as a software engineer and maybe turn a passion for reading and watching historic films into writing a book or screenplay.

But in her remarks, Hawkins shared a difficult moment in her educational journey. After a childhood laser-focused on academic achievement and a choice to leave her South Carolina home to come to NC State, she found herself discouraged in the middle of her junior year.

“I was truly in my lowest of moods,” Hawkins said. “The previous fall semester had been especially overwhelming, as my family had lost our backbone—my grandmother—over the summer, and the grief was like nothing I’d ever experienced. This paired with my junior year course load was simply not meshing. I was trying my best, but it was nowhere near good enough, nowhere near the standard, and I felt so constantly devastated.”

But, having received a Libraries student scholarship, she was invited to the Libraries’ 2023 Donors & Scholars event. And she happened to sit at a table next to Bailey and Edgerton.

“Despite feeling undeserving and guilty at the time, I figured I would attend the event as a way to express gratitude and appreciation of the generosity of donors,” Hawkins said. “I’m not even quite sure how we started talking, but meeting Steve and Mark was a pivotal moment in not only my academic journey, but my life.”

“Their genuine interest in my experiences as a Libraries Student Scholarship recipient made me feel valued and acknowledged. Beyond the scholarship, our ongoing dialogue has become a source of inspiration and motivation. It reflects a shared belief in the power of education and the importance of supporting students through mentorship and guidance.”

Hawkins then introduced Dalia Coffman, a sophomore studying materials science and engineering with a concentration in biomaterials who works the overnight shifts at the Hill Library’s Ask Us desk. She’s interested in a career in medical sciences and excited about having access to organizations like the Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network and Analytical Instrumentation Facility at NC State. After graduation, she hopes to return to her home country of Japan and use her degree to improve the health of any group in need.

Like Hawkins, Coffman also talked about her journey to NC State and the importance of her personal relationship with the donors to her Libraries Student Scholarship—Mrs. Connie and Mr. Robert Shertz.

“They have been one of the driving forces behind my pursuit of knowledge since my freshman year,” Coffman said. “What sets the Shertz’s apart is not only their financial support but the genuine interest they've taken in my academic journey. Following our initial encounter at this same event during my freshman year, their continued engagement and encouragement have been instrumental. The fact that we've kept in touch since then has not only strengthened my sense of belonging to this community but has also inspired me to excel in my studies.”

“In the spirit of Okinawan gratitude, I offer a sincere ‘Nifee debiru’ to express my deep thanks.”

Alumni Julia Velasquez (‘19) closed the program. Velasquez received a Libraries Student Scholarship during the second year they were offered, and reflected on her time at the Libraries through the lens of the first few years of her career. 

Growing up in a small town in upstate New York, Velasquez excelled in math and science and knew from an early age that she wanted to be an engineer. She was excited to search for the top engineering schools online, but then came the anxiety of her family's financial situation. “It was never a given that I would be able to attend college, and the thought of not being able to fulfill this dream hung over me for a long time,” she said.

Even when Velasquez was accepted early-admission to NC State, she felt uncomfortable celebrating the news because of that anxiety—what if she couldn’t afford to finish school, or to come at all? But she did come to NC State and worked at the Libraries’ Ask Us desk all four years.

“To say ‘I love the NC State University Libraries’ is really an understatement,” Velasquez said. “I could go on and on but, personally, receiving the scholarship at the time offered me encouragement in what I was doing. I felt confident in the path that I was taking, and as a college senior, I felt even more driven knowing that the people around me that had seen my hard work and growth through those four years really believed in me as a person and my future career.”

Professionally, her career has gotten off to a great start. A process sciences engineer in the biotech field, Velasquez works on medicines for clinical trials and commercial products that can be used as cancer treatments. But she’s most proud of how much she enjoys working with and helping many different kinds of people—a value she credits to her work at the Libraries. She has even become a mentor for the Women in Science and Engineering program at a local high school.

“Working at the Ask Us desk allowed me to make connections with people across campus while trying to solve their problems or assist them with a textbook,” she says. “This is something I do daily in the real world. My job requires that I work with almost every department in the company, whether it’s science, finance, or supply chain, and also with our clients worldwide. One of my strengths now is collaborating with individuals and figuring out what they really need to be successful.”

“I can’t help but feel fortunate for my experience working at the Libraries and for the support I received from donors and staff. I am fortunate to be here to express what the Libraries scholarship meant to me and how it has had a lasting impact on my career.”