Our 2026 Graduates’ Stories
The class of 2026 will graduate this week and celebrate their successes. We spoke to six undergraduate and graduate students to hear what they've loved about their time at NC State. Read their stories — and others from across campus — in this roundup.
NC State alumni do amazing things. They expand access to education. They discover new pterosaurs. They travel around the moon. (If you’re new here, this is a Christina Koch fan site.)
7,424
spring 2026 graduates
7,808
total degrees awarded
3,657
students graduating with honors
On Saturday, May 9, more than 7,400 graduates will become Wolfpack alumni. Many of them have already done amazing things during their time as students — like overcoming health challenges, winning national championships, founding student organizations or pivoting mid-career.
Here are just a few of their stories.
Ian Johnson
Saying Yes to All of It
Major: Mechanical engineering
Hometown: Hillsborough, North Carolina
Favorite spot on campus: The trails around Lake Raleigh
When Ian Johnson describes his NC State journey, he uses the word unorthodox. When other people describe Johnson, they use the word persistent.
A physics teacher at his Hillsborough high school helped inspire Johnson to enroll at the university. He graduates this month with a degree in mechanical engineering and will begin work as a data analyst for Capital One in Richmond, Virginia.
“It’s a bit of a pivot,” Johnson said. “I learned that I really loved the underlying math more than the design side of engineering. NC State has helped me discern what I love.”
Getting there hasn’t been simple.
The year before college, Johnson began experiencing tremendous pain. The diagnosis: Hypermobility Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), a rare connective tissue disorder that leads to hypermobile, unstable joints that can frequently dislocate.
The condition soon required the first of five surgeries to attempt to stabilize Johnson’s ball-and-socket joints. Back-to-back hip and shoulder surgeries kept him out of the university for what would have been the fall semester of his sophomore year.
Johnson has juggled constant physical therapy and regular appointments with doctors throughout the country. He learned to raise his hand often in class and regularly visit professors during office hours, making the most of his time on campus and finding faculty members to be understanding and helpful.
In the Caldwell Fellows, he gained a supportive, diverse and interesting community. The program provided opportunities that ranged from a technology-free week sailing in the Bahamas to a study abroad experience in Belgium, where he was born before moving to the United States at age 4.
With hEDS limiting his ability to do most activities, Johnson has navigated new passions. He replaced his love of playing basketball, for example, with serving as a coach for the club basketball team, which recently finished second at the national tournament in Madison, Wisconsin.
“What I’ve learned is to find the joys and express gratitude,” Johnson said. “Like I tell people, everyone’s got something they’re dealing with. It’s like poker. You get dealt a hand and you deal with it the best way you can.
“Along the way, I’ve become a firm believer in saying yes to as many things as possible.”
Hana Robinson
Top-Tier Transfer
Major: Natural resources
Hometown: Lincolnton, North Carolina
Favorite Campus Tradition: Packapalooza — “It’s a really cool way to get to know all the clubs and stuff before school starts, and it also has a festival vibe, which is awesome.”
Hana Robinson was drawn to natural resources management while working a stint with AmeriCorps. Earning a bachelor’s degree in that field from NC State was the next “natural” step.
It’s an important accomplishment for me, after nine years of figuring things out. I’m finally where I need to be.
Robinson is a member of the Goodnight Scholarships Program’s transfer class of 2026, graduating this spring with a bachelor’s degree in natural resources and a minor in forestry from the College of Natural Resources. She earned an associate degree in horticulture from Central Piedmont Community College and worked with Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation’s horticulture department before transferring to NC State.
“The thing about being a non-traditional student and transferring in — I’ll be 27 when I graduate,” Robinson said. “It’s an important accomplishment for me after nine years of figuring things out. I’m finally where I need to be.”
She has not only participated in the Goodnight program’s high-impact learning experiences but has also given back by mentoring new members. Perhaps her biggest piece of advice: Make connections, especially with faculty.
“Don’t be scared to reach out to professors,” Robinson said. “They love getting students involved. They love answering questions.”
She is also part of the James Buzzard Leadership Development Program. This CNR initiative helps undergraduates become outstanding leaders who inspire others through their guidance. Students attend workshops, network with community leaders and more during the year-long program.
After graduation, Robinson will begin a new job with AmeriCorps as a team leader in California. The role will involve wildfire mitigation, trail work and other environmental projects — a perfect fit for this multi-talented transfer.
Razi Sayyed
Exploring a Breadth of Opportunities
Major: Genetics
Hometown: Raleigh, North Carolina
Favorite spot on campus: Overlooking the Court of North Carolina from the 1911 Building
Growing up in Raleigh, Razi Sayyed got a taste of the NC State experience before officially enrolling as a student. In high school, he studied at the D.H. Hill Jr. Library and hung out with friends on Hillsborough Street. But the breadth of opportunities he found at the university still took him by surprise.
“You hear 40,000-plus students, but until you’re in it and you go out and meet all different types of people on campus, you don’t conceptualize how big NC State is,” Sayyed said. “There’s so many things you can try. There’s something for everybody.”
Sayyed has made the most of NC State’s offerings, including obtaining a bachelor’s degree in genetics — the only program of its kind in the UNC System. His courses inspired him to get involved in research.
“In genetics, the more you learn, the more questions you have,” he said. “There’s so much we don’t know yet. So I was inspired to try to find answers to those questions.”
Sayyed credits the Park Scholarships program with encouraging him to not only take advantage of opportunities on campus, but create them.
“The Park Scholarships program has probably been the biggest contributor to my development at NC State,” he said. “They push you to be the best version of yourself. When you’re in that environment, surrounded by other Park Scholars and mentors, you naturally find yourself wanting to do more on campus.”
He founded three student organizations, including a chapter of the Global Medical Brigades, for which he led medical mission trips to rural communities in Ghana and Guatemala. In honor of a friend who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, Sayyed started Bridging the Mind. The organization focuses on raising awareness and reducing the stigma on campus surrounding severe mental illness.
He also started a national championship-winning boxing club.
“That’s probably one of the most fun things I’ve done. I am an amateur boxer outside of school, and I wanted to bring that to NC State,” Sayyed said. “The club grew fast, and we’ve built a nice community.”
Sayyed — who worked as an emergency department technician all through college — is in the process of applying to medical school. In the meantime, he plans to take an industry research position.
“I love genetics, and that’s something I want to continue to be involved in during medical school and as a doctor,” he said.
Brooke Tolley
Her Extraordinary Way
Major: Business administration
Hometown: Burlington, North Carolina
Favorite spot on campus: Seating area in front of Nelson
Advice to new students: Don’t wish anything away and check your emails.
When Brooke Tolley walked on to NC State’s campus for the first time, she knew she was home. Starting in the Exploratory Studies Program her first year helped make the transition easier and gave Tolley the opportunity to find her Wolfpack.
Her love for her business coursework in the Poole College of Management led Tolley to become a Poole Peer Leader, mentoring first-year and transfer students. Tolley cites the program as one of the most impactful experiences she has had at NC State; it introduced her to new opportunities and encouraged her out of her comfort zone.
“I’ve grown so much as a person – professionally, academically,” she said. “I’ve learned how to be a leader. I’ve learned how to listen, how to communicate, how to show up for people, how to be there and be a support system.”
Tolley is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma international business honor society and Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority where she served on the senior experience and philanthropy committees. The skills she developed as a peer leader bolstered her work with her sorority, and Tolley is proud of their philanthropic achievements.
As the recipient of the Cromartie Family Extraordinary Opportunity Scholarship, Tolley is no stranger to the impact of philanthropy. The scholarship has, in part, enabled Tolley to return to NC State this fall for her Master of Accounting, after which she will pursue licensure to become a certified public accountant.
Though she will be back on campus in a few months, graduation is still bittersweet. “But then again, I don’t think I would have done it any other way.”
Josh Webb
English Educator Extraordinaire
Major: Middle grades English language arts and social studies education
Hometown: Rocky Mount, North Carolina
Favorite Campus Tradition: Wolfpack athletics — “Me and my friends would do our best to go to the games.”
Joshua Webb has always wanted to give back to his community. Thanks to a special scholarship initiative, he’ll have the opportunity — and the training — to do just that after graduating this semester.
Webb is a Transformational Scholar in the College of Education. The program enables students from eastern North Carolina to study at NC State and then return home to teach elementary, middle or high school. Webb paired his Transformational Scholarship with another scholarship from his high school in order to join the Wolfpack.
“When I saw [the Transformational Scholarship] and applied, I immediately knew that NC State was the university for me, because not only could I graduate debt-free, but I could also be part of this cohort of future professionals,” Webb said.
Webb chose to major in English education because of the ability of language to promote social change. He is also minoring in English through the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Outside of the classroom, Webb has served with NC State Student Government, been a member of the Students Advocating for Youth Village, joined the international honor society for educators Kappa Delta Pi and more. He has also been active with NC State’s LGBTQ Pride Center and helped restart the College of Education’s Queer Educators Alliance.
After completing his bachelor’s degree, Webb plans to complete a special one-year graduate program to earn a master of arts degree in education or educational innovation. Then, it’s back to Nash or Edgecombe County to teach future generations how to Think and Do.
Caleb Zander
Redesigning Possibilities
Degree: Master of Industrial Design
Hometown: Harrisonburg, Virginia
Something essential he learned at NC State: “It’s okay to admit you don’t know what you’re doing. Learn from people around you, whether that’s the professors or other students. If you don’t understand, ask.”
Caleb Zander will don the Wolfpack cap and gown once more — this time for a master’s degree in industrial design.
His first NC State degree was a bachelor’s in science education. For nearly a decade, Zander was a high school science teacher in Wake County. After long school days, he’d unwind by making things — woodworking, metalworking and rebuilding old motorcycles.
“I was always tinkering as a hobby and didn’t know that was something you could do as a job until I stumbled across industrial design,” said Zander.
If you’re interested in something — even if it’s not immediately relevant to whatever class you’re in — chase that.
Already well established in Raleigh, he chose to apply for graduate study at NC State for its location, and because he knew the industrial design program was a perfect place to channel his love for tinkering into creating well-designed things.
During his studies, Zander helped lead the student chapter of the Industrial Designers Society of America and assistant-taught undergraduate classes. He also got involved in fixing and maintaining the Materials Lab — a space with a complete wood shop, metal shop, paint booth and laser-cutting machines. It’s his favorite spot on campus.
Clearly, he likes to stay busy and, with a new degree, he’s seeking roles in a design agency or shop where he can work on multiple projects, testing and prototyping new materials.
And while Zander is now an industrial designer, he still gives great teacherly advice, especially for students compelled to carve a path of their own.
“Take advantage of all of the things here for you, but realize you’ll never be able to do everything. If you’re interested in something — even if it’s not immediately relevant to whatever class you’re in — chase that. It is relevant to you growing and finding something that you’ll be happy with.”
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