Events
Wake Tech IGNITE Celebrates 'Heroes in the Hallway'
Seventh-Annual Event Reveals Name of Future Campus
RALEIGH, N.C. (April 15, 2024) – More than 750 local business and community leaders gathered Monday at the Raleigh Convention Center for the seventh-annual "Wake Tech IGNITE" event. The celebratory afternoon showcases the college and its mission of transforming lives.
Hosted by the Wake Tech Foundation, this year's theme was "Heroes in the Hallway," highlighting the many ways in which students, faculty, staff and partners in the community make a difference every day.
"We are a college full of illuminators," said Wake Tech President Dr. Scott Ralls, "and we are surrounded by a community full of illuminators. We have heroes in our hallways – people who shine a light on others and make everyone they encounter feel respected and supported in overcoming whatever challenges they face."
The IGNITE event included a very special presentation to Mike Conlon, the founder and chief executive of Affordable Communities Group LLC and a former chair of the Wake Tech Foundation Board. Conlon has gifted Wake Tech with the largest private donation in its history, and the permanent endowment will help support critical faculty positions. In honor of the incredibly generous gift, Wake Tech's future location in Apex will be named Wake Tech Conlon Western Campus.
"We're honored and humbled to have our name associated with the campus," said Conlon. "Wake Tech changes the lives of students, and when that happens, the lives of families also change, and our community is better and stronger."
Conlon has previously directed more than $1 million to support small-business programs and entrepreneurship at Wake Tech and was honored by the naming of Conlon Hall on the Scott Northern Wake Campus. One of the initiatives Conlon supports is the Main Street Entrepreneurs Accelerator (MSEA) program, which helps emerging entrepreneurs strengthen and expand their businesses.
Several people shared inspirational testimonials at IGNITE:
- Raven Edwards
Raven Edwards completed the six-week MSEA program, which includes small-business training sessions, coaching, mentoring and an entrepreneur pitch competition. She received $20,000 for her specialty juice business, Kraven Juice. Edwards shared how she used the money to grow her operation to sell directly to consumers at farmers markets, local festivals, pop-up shops and more. She credits Wake Tech and the MSEA program for helping her succeed.
"Without this quick-start program, I wouldn't have had the tools to start my business quickly and get my dream off and running," said Edwards. "It changed my life and the lives of the people I have been able to employ."
- Joe Bright
Wake Tech Basic Law Enforcement Training (BLET) Coordinator Joe Bright shared how he has observed numerous acts of heroism and valor in the 16 years he has worked with the BLET program.
"I have gotten to know hundreds of cadets who have chosen to put others before themselves and make law enforcement a career," he said. "Ryan Hayworth was one of those cadets who stood out, and he is a hero to all of us."
Hayworth, a Wake Tech BLET graduate and Knightdale police officer, was killed in the line of duty in 2021. He is remembered as someone who exemplified the qualities of a hero: leadership, integrity, courage, willingness to help others, kindness, empathy, generosity, humility, honesty and faith. Wake Tech named an award in Hayworth's honor to recognize cadets who demonstrate those qualities. His parents and Fabienne Pierre, who received the award after completing BLET at Wake Tech and now serves as a trooper with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, were recognized at IGNITE.
- Tim Humphrey
IBM Chief Analytics Officer Tim Humphrey, a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs serving Wake County's Board of Directors, discussed a new partnership between the Boys & Girls Clubs and Wake Tech that is designed to make sure kids and their families in Wake County don't get left behind.
Wake Tech employee Carlon "CC" Hardy is stationed at the Boys Club's Raleigh Boulevard location and serves as the Workforce Community Outreach Officer. She works with students on career exploration, degree and non-degree program options, financial aid, resume development and job interview skills.
"By having a career coach accessible, we're helping provide constant visibility and resources, so our members and their families know there are opportunities and a path to change their lives," said Humphrey. "It takes people in our community opening doors and heroes in the hallway at places like Wake Tech to make a real impact that benefits us all."
- Elizabeth Calvente
Wake Tech Biology Instructor and START mentor Elizabeth Calvente shared her experience working with student researchers in Wake Tech's unique STEM Academic Research & Training (START) program. Through hands-on research and engagement with partners in the local STEM community, students enrich their academic experience, develop their technical skills and increase their ability to be competitive in higher education and the STEM workforce.
"I have personally seen the positive impact this program has had on students," Calvente said. "Working as a START mentor has been a rich and fulfilling experience. There is nothing more rewarding than watching these students learn, grow and thrive as they reach their goals."
- Mia Lattanzi
To date, 515 students have benefited from Wake Tech's START program, including Mia Lattanzi, who is in her second year at Wake Tech. Lattanzi has blossomed, thanks to START and her mentor, Elizabeth Calvente.
Lattanzi was adopted from China and diagnosed with high-functioning autism as a child. When she visited Wake Tech and discovered the hands-on opportunities for research that were available in the START program, she could picture herself in a lab and knew Wake Tech was the place for her. The program boosted her confidence and allowed her to polish her presentation skills.
"Wake Tech has given me the chance to embrace my disability," she said. "Actually, it's what I call my different ability!"
Bob Lattanzi, Mia's dad, was beaming with pride when he saw his daughter take the stage. "The START program was the recipe for success for Mia," he said. "It energized her and put her on her way. We are so thankful for Elizabeth Calvente. She is Mia's hero."
- Khadijah Scarborough
Wake Tech graduate Khadijah Scarborough shared how the college's Fostering Bright Futures (FBF) program helped her when she needed it most. FBF assists students transitioning from the foster care system to independent young adulthood.
After enrolling at Wake Tech, Scarborough struggled with classwork and finances. She totaled her car, lost her job and became homeless. She says that, when she reached the breaking point, she turned to the FBF program and received many kinds of support – academic advising, career coaching, financial and budget planning and life skills training.
"Wake Tech was there for me when there was no one else," she said. "Wake Tech provided me with the platform to rewrite my story and live a life dedicated to serving others like me."
Scarborough is a proud graduate of Wake Tech's Associate Degree Nursing program and works as a pediatric mental health nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She also is a recipient of the Dallas Herring Achievement Award, the highest honor given by the North Carolina Community College System.
"Thanks to the heroes in the hallways and the classrooms at Wake Tech, I now get to be a hero in the hallway for thousands of children," she said.
Wake Tech IGNITE is focused on strengthening community relationships and developing new partnerships. The Wake Tech Foundation cultivates and manages a variety of resources critical to the college's success: corporate investments, private grants, alumni and employee contributions and financial and in-kind support from many friends of the college. These resources fund diverse projects, from student scholarships to broader instructional and institutional needs.
