Engineering Pack Pod

This week on our belonging boost segment, Dr. Meredith Martinez shares a slightly different take on the "Key Change." Relatively fresh in her career as an assistant teaching professor in civil engineering, Dr. Martinez discusses how starting a family has changed how and what she prioritizes each day. She shares an important analogy, comparing the task of prioritization to a juggling act...

Generative AI is reshaping how students learn, apply for jobs, and enter the workforce. Kayla Woitkowski, director of global emerging talent at Nutanix, joins Marcy to explain what employers now value in entry-level candidates. They discuss AI fluency, durable skills like judgment and learning agility, and why students must understand anything AI helps them create. Kayla also shares how personal p...

This week, we return with another episode of "The Key Change"! Marcy is joined by Aaliyah Zuniga, a current PhD student in NC State's Nuclear Engineering department. Aaliyah discusses her journey as a first-gen college student and the first in her family to pursue a PhD. She shares about the resources and relationships that have helped her both to navigate her reality as a minority i...

Dr. Sarah Levinson did not begin college knowing that she would one day co-found a biotechnology company. Her career developed through exploration, mentorship, and a willingness to step outside her comfort zone. In this episode, Sarah shares how she went from an NC State microbiology student and peer counselor to co-founder and vice president of research at Piper Therapeutics. She and Marcy discus...

Welcome back for another episode of "The Key Change"! This week, we are joined by Kaleb Decker, a current PhD candidate in NC State's Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering department. Kaleb shares how a new framework for evaluating "progress" helped him gain a sense of belonging in his graduate studies. He shares both the steps that led to his Key Change, and the other bene...

“You don’t know what you don’t know, and you don’t know to ask what you don’t know to ask.” For many first-generation students, college and graduate school come with unwritten expectations that everyone else seems to understand. How do office hours work? How should you interact with faculty? What does networking look like in graduate school? And how do you begin seeing yourself not simply as a stu...

In this very first episode of our new segment, the Key Change: Belonging Boost, we finally catch our grad student editor as the guest on the other side of the camera. Just as a key change in music can transform the feeling of a song, life’s expected and unexpected transitions can change how we see ourselves. Our very own Mady Pennino is a master's student in the Operations Research program, bu...

Change can be exciting, frightening, confusing or all three at once. In this solo episode, host Marcy Bullock introduces Key Change: Belonging Boost, a new Engineering Pack Pod segment exploring the major transitions that reshape our identities and sense of belonging. Just as a key change in music can transform the feeling of a song, life’s expected and unexpected transitions can change how we see...

We are joined this week by Ed Summers (and his seeing-eye dog, Loki) for his perspective on accessibility in tech. Ed progressively lost his sense of sight as an undergraduate computer science student, but he didn't let functional blindness diminish the vision he had for his future. Previously a software development manager and accessibility director at SAS, and now the Head of Accessibility a...

Get ready for NC State's upcoming Fall Engineering Career Fair with your coach, Todd Hay. Todd is a seasoned professional engineer with over 30 years in the game, and in this episode, you will find his playbook to success in an engineering career. A resource for all aspiring AND early-career engineers, Todd offers his senior leadership perspective on what really matters, what can help you stan...

Angela Martin is back again, this time to share more about the ideas presented in her book, Building Your Creative Foundation (This is Not a Dream: From Daydream to Day Job) https://a.co/d/0b4Pgs6A. Angela explains how developing your career in a fulfilling way is a personal balancing act of passion, talent, impact, and compensation. She also discusses why "do what you love" may not alwa...

Tap into your creative mind as Angela Martin takes us to the frontier of diversely accessible technology. A relatively new field with a wide open door of opportunity, User Experience (UX) Design stands as a unique career blending creativity, tech, and human-centered impact. Angela's impressive credentials (author, UX Designer at Lenovo, and more) qualify her to enlighten us on the many ways ac...

We hear you, Wolfpack...the current job market for new grads is not for the faint of heart. This week, Sara Concini (of NCSU ECE Graduate and Career Services & Corporate Relations) sits down to talk about the hidden tool not many job seekers consider–Empathy. This episode offers a multi-perspective insight into the job search, highlighting empathy as the applicant's main tool for maintaini...

Jenny Hofler, a talent acquisition leader with more than a decade of recruiting experience, shares what really separates successful candidates from the rest. From building a strong LinkedIn profile and networking with purpose to acing interviews and overcoming imposter syndrome, Jenny offers practical advice for students preparing to launch their careers. She also discusses resume mistakes, workpl...

Olivia Holbrook, an NC State environmental engineering alum and graduate student in Ocean and Resource Engineering at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, shares her unconventional path from graduation to graduate school. She reflects on taking time to discover what truly interested her, working in the service industry, overcoming imposter syndrome, and building confidence by trusting her instincts...

Dan Black, Global Talent Strategy Leader at EY, shares why the best careers aren't built by following a perfect plan. They're built through curiosity, adaptability, and staying true to your values. Drawing on more than 30 years at EY, Dan discusses career agility, communication, emotional intelligence, and why finding the right cultural fit matters more than chasing the perfect job. Credit...

Industrial-organizational psychologist Dr. Wanda Pemberton joins Engineering Pack Pod to share practical strategies for building confidence, increasing visibility, and navigating change in the workplace. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience in STEM environments, she discusses how to recognize and use your strengths, seek meaningful feedback, communicate with intention, and determine whether...

Abraham Michel shares how leaving home, starting a Ph. D., and navigating the unknown left him feeling overwhelmed and isolated. By reaching out to advisors, connecting with peers, and treating graduate school like a marathon instead of a sprint, he discovered that asking for support is one of the most powerful steps toward building confidence.

Engineering Pack Pod is proud to share this special conversation featuring Marcy Bullock as a guest on Success Reimagined with Dr. Amna Shabbir . In this episode, Marcy discusses the importance of resilience, student success, leadership, and supporting others through life's challenges. Through authentic stories and practical insights, this conversation explores how growth often comes from embr...

Dr. Randolph Brooks is the former assistant director of outreach, NC State Counseling Center. This episode was recorded while he was still employed with NC State. Dr. Brooks shares practical strategies for managing stress, anxiety, and the pressures of student life. From breathing techniques and grounding exercises to building routines and focusing on what you can control, this conversation remind...

Leila Bonakdar reflects on her transition from industry back to graduate school, sharing the challenges of changing identities, overcoming self-doubt, and learning to embrace uncertainty. Through Smooth Sailing and the support of a growing community, she discovered that asking questions and not having all the answers is an important part of the Ph. D. journey.

Robin Batsuli reflects on his transition from NC State to the tech industry, sharing how communication, curiosity, and customer-focused thinking have shaped his success. From navigating career changes to balancing growth and wellbeing, Robin explains why technical skills alone aren't enough, you must also learn to connect with people.

Kevin Noriega shares how he navigated the pressure of proving himself in graduate school, overcame self-doubt, and discovered that confidence is built through small, meaningful wins. From leaning on peers to celebrating progress, Kevin reminds us that success comes one step at a time.

Craig Prince reflects on his journey from engineering to community-building, navigating burnout, identity shifts, and the pressure to do it all. Through those challenges, he learned one of his most important lessons: to slow down, let go, and be at ease with where he is.

José Urbina shares his journey of adjusting to a new country, a new marriage, and a demanding PhD. What began as a clear plan quickly became overwhelming, but through support, resilience, and persistence, he learned to adapt and grow in ways he never expected.