Skip to main content
NC State Home
CHASS Alumni — John Cooper Elias

entrepreneurship

Mar 13, 2014

From Wolfpack Red to Blue Man Group Blue

Brian Tavener (Communication, ‘04) did something very unusual for an NC State alumnus: he turned blue. Tavener, a former Park Scholar, has been a member of the Blue Man Group, an international spectacle in which the performers dress in bald caps, blue-black costumes and makeup, for more than six years. Blue Man Group performances are regularly seen across the country and around the world.

Feb 6, 2014

NC State Students Bring Nonprofit’s Work to Life

Two Communication students volunteered their skills and talents to a local nonprofit. Zach Swann and Cameron McCarty have created a video to help PLM Families Together tell the story of moving families from homelessness to places of stability and hope.

Jun 24, 2013

COM Grad Gives Student Commencement Address

Communication major Jessica Ekstrom delivered an inspired and moving student address during NC State University's spring 2013 commencement exercises.

Jan 7, 2013

Sitting Pretty with Simply Sitting

CHASS alumna Ginny Hager (Communication '08) started babysitting when she was 13. She has continued to hear from parents who struggle to find trustworthy, dependable sitters. So this entrepreneur created Simply Sitting, a service that connects families to the best babysitters in their area.

Oct 26, 2012

Hope is Not Lost, It’s Wearable

For pediatric cancer patients, hope is not lost. Student entrepreneur Jessica Ekstrom has founded Headbands of Hope to help fund cancer research and spread hope to all girls. For every headband purchased, one is given to a girl with cancer and $1 is donated to the St. Baldrick's Foundation to fund life-saving childhood cancer research.

Jul 22, 2012

50 Days, 50 Meals

Two NC State students are traveling the world this summer. Austin Simmons and Andrew Vanover have organized their adventure around food: through "50 Days, 50 Meals," they want to share a meal with a different stranger every day, and in so doing, "hear their stories, hear their perspectives on various topics, and learn from different cultures."

Jun 10, 2011

CHASS Alumni — Doc Hendley

As founder of Wine to Water, an international aid organization that provides clean drinking water in impoverished countries, Doc Hendley (Communication, ’04) has used his understanding of communication theory to build trust with tribal authorities and governmental leaders. Hendley was named as one of CNN’s Top Ten Heroes of the Year. Video produced by Jim…

Aug 23, 2010

CHASS Alumni — John Cooper Elias

John Cooper Elias (Communication, 2009) served as Agromeck editor and as president of the Student Wolfpack Club when he was a student at NC State. He went on to work full-time as an intern with the Wolfpack Club, coordinating marketing strategies for the Carolina Hurricanes, and overseeing the Hillsborough Street location of his family’s fair-trade…