Graduate Student Profiles

Each semester, The Graduate School shines a spotlight on graduate students who exemplify the Think and Do mantra of our great university.

When you pursue a graduate degree at NC State, you aren’t just preparing for the “real world” — you’re shaping it. Our master’s and doctoral students work alongside our faculty to solve the big problems: finding economically and environmentally sustainable energy sources, improving human health, creating prosperity.

Meet Mariana Prieto Torres

Mariana Prieto Torres’ journey into graduate school began with the Kelman Scholars REU program in 2019, where she discovered the vital role of extension as a bridge between research and agricultural communities. Inspired to contribute to this mission, she started her PhD in 2021 in Dr. Lina Quesada’s Vegetable Pathology Lab. Her research focuses on a devastating disease affecting the cucurbit industry in North Carolina.

Leah Harrell | College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Leah Harrell’s journey to NC State was driven by a passion for bioarchaeology and a desire to bridge archaeology with biological anthropology. Her research focuses on understanding the lived histories of people in the past, specifically through dental morphology.

Paul Agada, Masters in Communication graduate

Paul Agada | College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Paul Agada is graduating this spring with a master’s degree in communication, bringing with him a powerful record of leadership, service, and global perspective.

Will Kirschenman | College of Engineering

Will Kirschenman came to NC State to bring together operations research, military experience, and service-oriented problem-solving. A Ph.D. candidate in Operations Research, Will studies combinatorial optimization methods for packing and loading problems, with a focus on arranging items so they can be retrieved efficiently for downstream logistics needs.

Maya Ryder | College of Education

Maya Ryder is a first-year master’s student in the College of Education’s School Counseling program and a manager at 321 Coffee on NC State’s Centennial Campus.

Sumedh Beknalkar | College of Engineering

Sumedh Beknalkar, a Ph.D. candidate in the mechanical and aerospace engineering department at NC State’s College of Engineering, is also the president and co-founder of SLA Robotics.

David Nguyen Ph.D. student in CRDM program

David Nguyen | College of Humanities and Social Sciences

David Nguyen leads with story — his family’s, his community’s and now his own. A first-generation Vietnamese American from Greensboro, he traces his path to graduate school to parents who left Vietnam and set a new course so their children could go further.

Monse Hernandez | Institute for Advanced Analytics

Monse Hernandez came back to NC State to turn research into real-world insight. Now a first-year master’s student at the Institute for Advanced Analytics, Monse is building on her undergraduate foundation to translate data into decisions that serve schools, communities and the broader Wolfpack.

Rachael Rice masters student in the Wilson College of Textiles

Rachael Rice | Wilson College of Textiles

Rachael Rice arrived at NC State ready to turn curiosity into impact. After a liberal arts chemistry degree at Lewis & Clark, she explored teaching in France and sharpened her instrumentation skills in Portland’s semiconductor industry. That hands-on experience led her to the Wilson College of Textiles.

Rebecca Craps | College of Natural Resources

After a decade of teaching elementary and middle school, Rebecca Craps felt called to widen her classroom to the outdoors. Now a Natural Resources and Environmental Systems Agent with N.C. Cooperative Extension in Forsyth County, she’s turned that calling into action through NC State’s Master of Environmental Assessment program.

Prateeti Ugale | Wilson College of Textiles

Prateeti Ugale is a Ph.D. candidate in the fiber and polymer science program at NC State University’s Wilson College of Textiles. She conducts her research in the SHIFT Lab under the guidance of Dr. Amanda Mills, focusing on advancing electronic textiles (e-textiles), especially interconnects.

Madeline Stallard | College of Education

Having earned her Ph.D. in Science Education from NC State in May 2025, she’s now a postdoctoral research scholar at the Friday Institute, dedicated to improving science education and professional development.

Samantha Kisthardt | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Samantha Kisthardt, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Theriot lab at NC State, researches how the gut microbiome prevents C. difficile infection.

College of Education Ph.D. student Jayla Moody

Jayla Moody Marshall | College of Education

Jayla Moody Marshall, a Spring 2025 Ph.D. graduate from NC State’s Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development program in the College of Education, is reshaping the conversation around student success.

College of Engineering Master's student Jonah Bridges

Jonah Bridges | College of Engineering

Jonah Bridges is a Spring 2025 graduate within the Materials Science and Engineering master’s program, who’s already committed to walking across the stage and right into his Ph.D. program.

College of Engineering Masters student Raj Madhu

Raj Madhu | College of Engineering

For as long as he can remember, Raj Madhu has been captivated by the inner workings of technology, always eager to explore new innovations and understand what happens behind the scenes. Now, this Computer Science graduate gets to apply his skills in the professional world.

Aniruddha Kulkarni | College of Engineering

From a young age in Pune, India, Aniruddha Kulkarni approached life as a puzzle waiting to be solved, a curiosity sparked by the endless possibilities he saw within the realm of computers.

Clarissa Gernat | College of Design

Driven by a lifelong connection to NC State, fostered by her father’s work at the university and now shared with her sister and cousin, Clarissa Gernat found a natural home in the College of Design’s Media Arts, Design, and Technology program.

Isabella Bartels | College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Isabella Bartels is a first-year master’s student in Public History, focusing on the history of climate change adaptation, science, and its cultural perceptions. Guided by her mentors, her research aims to raise awareness of the lived experiences of climate change in environmentally vulnerable communities.

Yi Chen | College of Engineering

Yi Chen, a Ph.D. student in the College of Engineering, is currently researching battery-less RF energy harvesting sensor platforms and hopes to overcome the form factor and reliability issues posed by batteries in wearable devices.

Riley Lawson | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar program offers teaching and research awards to U.S. citizens in more than 130 countries, and we had a chance to sit down with College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Fulbright Scholar Riley Lawson to talk about her graduate education experience and the opportunity to conduct research in France.

Paige Moore Ph.D. graduate in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Paige Moore | College of Humanities and Social Sciences

The spirit of the Wolfpack is alive and well, especially as it relates to this soon to be three-time graduate of NC State. Paige Moore received her undergraduate degree, masters and now set to graduate this spring with her Ph.D. in Public Administration from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Ryan McCune | College of Engineering

Ryan McCune is a second-year Ph.D. student in civil engineering concentrating on coastal engineering at the College of Engineering. Ryan’s research focuses on chronic coastal flooding in North Carolina as part of the Sunny Day Flooding Project.

Dion Harry | College of Education

Dion Harry is a fourth-year Higher Education Opportunity, Equity, and Justice doctoral candidate. Dion is originally from Lynchburg, SC, and is a proud product of Lee County School District in South Carolina.

Nigar Sultana | Wilson College of Textiles

Nigar Sultana, a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the fiber and polymer science program, is currently developing nanomaterial-based biosensors for biomedical applications. These biosensors are envisioned as non-invasive tools for detecting underlying diseases.

Ankita Gupta | College of Veterinary Medicine

Ankita Gupta is a DVM/Ph.D. student in the Comparative Biomedical Sciences graduate program. At the core of her passion lies a relentless pursuit of improving the success of translational research for chronic pain, a condition that plagues countless animals and individuals.

Vanadeep Kaluvagunta | College of Sciences

Vanadeep Kaluvagunta is pursuing his third master’s degree in climate change and society from the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences. An international graduate student from India, he currently holds a Ph.D. in physics along with a double masters in physics and meteorology.

Margaret Baker | College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Margaret Baker, a Raleigh native and current Ph.D. student in the Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media program with the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, recently decided to leave her role as a creative director in the Triangle area to pursue her passion for teaching and research.

Echo Pan | College of Sciences

Echo Pan, a Ph.D. candidate in functional genomics and a FFAR fellow, graduated with a master’s degree in food science from the CRISPR lab led to Dr. Rodolphe Barrangou. Her current research focuses on CRISPR-based genome engineering in probiotics.

Lily Kile | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Lily Kile, currently a Ph.D. student in the department of crop and soil sciences and a Goodnight doctoral fellow, worked on her M.S. in soil science at NC State, focusing on sweet potato production. Lily enjoys enjoy rafting, kayaking, weight lifting, camping, timber sports, and many other activities that allow her to get outside and move.

Muhammad Ikbal Putera Ph.D. student in the College of Natural Resources

Muhammad Ikbal Putera | College of Natural Resources

Muhammad Ikbal Putera’s journey to NC State has been transformative. In 2022, he reached out to over a dozen professors across the U.S., seeking advising opportunities, and ultimately connected with Dr. Yu-Fai Leung in the Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management (PRTM) Department.

Tatiana Osorio Montoya | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Tatiana received both her undergraduate and master’s degrees in biology in Colombia, and is proud to be a first generation graduate. This achievement was made possible through her family’s efforts, a public university, and a scholarship that supported her studies.

Joseph Flesch Ph.D. student in the Department of Psychology

Joseph Flesch | College of Humanities and Social Sciences

North Carolina native, Joseph Flesch knew he wanted to apply for graduate school and continue his education towards the end of his 2nd year of undergraduate study when he found the McNair Scholars Program.