This year, we celebrated an impressive array of milestones including the 25th anniversary of Service Raleigh, the fulfillment of the Krispy Kreme Challenge‘s $2 million commitment to the UNC Children’s hospital, and the graduation of the 1,000th Park Scholar. With 23 classes, the Park alumni community now includes over 1,000 dedicated alumni making a difference in communities around the world.
The Class of 2022 honored Julius Tillery, a leader in environmental, agricultural, and racial justice in North Carolina, with the 23rd annual William C. Friday Award for his outstanding advocacy for North Carolina’s agricultural and environmental sectors. The Class of 2023 hosted the 2022 Gerald H. Elkan Distinguished Lecture in Science and Society featuring Nalini Nadkarni, an award-winning ecologist and science activist committed to increasing scientific literacy among incarcerated populations. Together, the Classes of 2023 and 2024 explored leadership in K-12 education equity and access during Learning Lab II. The Park Scholars in the Class of 2025 explored leadership in North Carolina’s foster care system during Learning Lab I. In its 25th anniversary year, Service Raleigh returned to an entirely in-person format, bringing together 708 volunteers for a day of service at 80 sites throughout the Triangle.
41 students were chosen from an applicant pool of over 2,200 to make up the Class of 2026. Over 400 alumni, faculty, and friends on the Selection Committee assisted in awarding these scholarships, proof of our community’s perpetual support. This same community showed enormous generosity on Day of Giving, raising money for scholarships and enrichment programming. A pair of Park parents created the 10th co-named Park Scholarship, which, once fulfilled, will fund one Park Scholarship at NC State in perpetuity. Thanks to 1,168 donors to the Park Scholarships Sustaining Endowment, we added an additional Park Scholar to the most recent class.