sPark: A Park Scholarships Conference

See you this Friday, Oct. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 25!

sPark is our biennial conference hosted by the Park Scholarships program. We are excited to celebrate our 30th anniversary year, bringing together the Park community for a weekend of learning and connection around scholarship, leadership, service and character.

Read the full spark program here

Meet our Keynote Speaker

John Kelly ’07 is the Tech Co-founder of Envelop Risk Analytics, a global leader in cyber reinsurance that uses AI to model and provide protection against cyber attacks. Previously, he worked at Lockheed Martin and was an early employee at QxBranch, a quantum computing software startup that was acquired by Rigetti Computing. John is also an internationally recognized ultra runner, with wins at some of the world’s toughest races and speed records on multiple premier routes. He studied Electrical and Computer Engineering at NC State, completing a BS and MS before earning his Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon.

Conference Schedule

8-9 a.m. Breakfast and Check in

9-10:15 a.m. sPark Talks

Syd Fryer ‘26 and Ana-Victoria Gomez ‘26
Building Bridges through Bilingualism and the Four Pillars

Ariana Paul ‘26
Color, Culture and Cars: Why Representation Shapes Innovation

Athalia Windham ‘27
The Strawberry Bon Bon Effect

Keara Saud Greatwood ‘16
Mentorship for Life

Jason Hicks
The Power of a Note

10:15-10:30 a.m. Break

10:30-11:30 a.m. Breakout #1

Session 1: Dominick Carbone ‘20, Nick Kapur ‘15, Terrell Russell ‘00, Val Schwartz
AI in the Data Space: Firsthand Perspectives | Location: Room 4106

Session 2: Calvin Duong ‘27, Jennifer Johnson ‘02, Owais Kamran (Stamps Scholar, Wake Forest), Laila Knio ‘17
From Experience to Empowerment: Writing Your Own Wisdom | Location: Room 4107

Session 3: Wade Colburn ‘14, Emily Neville ‘20, Neal Robbins ‘01
Turning an idea into action- Building a company | Location: Room 4101

11:30-12:30 p.m. Lunch

12:30-1:30 p.m.- Undiscovered Luck with Eva Feucht ‘02, Duke Energy Hall

1:30-1:45 p.m. Break

1:45-2:45 p.m. Breakout #2

Session 1: Zack Hester ‘11, Amalan Iyengar ‘20, Stephen West ‘14
Space 101! | Location: Room 4107

Session 2: Kalen Biggers ‘17, Margaret Borden ‘15, Anna-Claire Bousquet ‘18, Addison Hughes ‘24, Beth Rodgers ‘22
Educating in the Age of AI | Location: IEI Room 4106

Session 3: Jack Bolton ‘27, Jayna Lennon ‘20, Tainan Nunes (Stamps Scholar, Elizabethtown), Lauren Winslow ‘04
Leaning Into Connection and Discomfort | Location: Room 4101

2:45-3 p.m. Break

3:00-4 p.m. Breakout #3

Session 1: Dane Emmerling ‘08, Hannah Lineberger ‘20, Osarabo Obasuyi ‘26
What Public Health Abroad Can Teach Us About Equity at Home | Location: Room 4106

Session 2: Amber McFarland Kendall ’05, Kiran Muttathil ‘27, Jordan Schwarz ‘05
Building Creativity: Unlocking Ideas Through LEGO Bricks | Location: Room 4101

Session 3: Avi Aggarwal ‘15, Daniel Hutchinson-Kausch ‘23, Radha Pareek (Stamps Scholar, Ohio State)
Weaving a Social Fabric in the Digital World | Location: Room 4107

Session 4: Andriy Shymonyak ‘15, Jessie Ritter ’10
American Democracy: A Case for Investment and Innovation | Location: Room 4105

4-4:20 p.m. Break

4:20-4:45 p.m. sPark Talks

Nick Kapur ‘15
The Evolution of the Modern Athlete

Madilyn Fratis (Stamps Scholar, Elizabethtown)
Rise Above: Turning Adversity Into Collective Strength

Kyla Griffin ‘27
When Curiosity Saves the Cat: How Curiosity Fuels Connection

Brice Lefler ’06

Health

4:45-4:55 p.m. State of the Park

5- 7 p.m. Alumni and Park Scholar Reception

Schedule subject to change

All funds raised are collected and managed by the NC State University Foundation , a 501(c)(3) organization, tax ID 56-6000756.