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Appalachian Features

  • The Value of Undergraduate Research
    The Value of Undergraduate Research
    Chemistry major Allison Newell and biology major Morgan Thompson present their undergraduate research findings at a professional conference in San Diego, Calif.
  • Snowfall prediction research
    Snowfall Prediction Research
    Researchers from Appalachian State University, UNC Asheville and NC State University are collaborating on a project to improve snowfall predications in the higher elevations.
  • On the Rock Face
    On the Rock Face
    The region's cliff faces harbor rare plant species dating back to the last ice age. Appalachian researchers are working to understand and protect this special ecosystem.
  • Seven Girls, Seven Dreams
    Seven Girls, Seven Dreams
    Seven girls have greater hope for achieving their professional dreams because they chose to participate in Upward Bound's college preparation activities.
  • Dancing with the Dragon: Contemporary Art from Beijing
    Dancing with the Dragon: Contemporary Art from Beijing
    The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts presents "Dancing with the Dragon," a multi-disciplinary exchange program featuring contemporary art and artists from China.
  • Gloria Steinem
    Gloria Steinem: A Leader in Social Change
    Appalachian's Forum Lecture Series brings nationally prominent speakers to campus. Their views enliven campus dialogue on a variety of issues. Writer and feminist activist Gloria Steinem opened the 2008 series.
  • Supporting the Best Writers
    Supporting the Best Writers
    The Truman Capote Literary Trust Scholarship in Creative Writing is awarded to Appalachian's best student writers of fiction and poetry. This year's winner is John Stone, a senior from Sanford.
  • Carolyn Clark
    The Power of Mentoring - Carolyn Clark '04
    Two communication majors reach the top of their field in New York City thanks to the mentoring relationships they developed at Appalachian.
  • Appalachian Graduate Student Profiles
    Diverse Educational Journeys
    Four graduate students describe very diverse educational journeys at Appalachian and beyond in their own words.
  • Mountaineers Make History
    Mountaineers Make History
    The Mountaineers seal their reputation as a national model for college football success after winning an unprecedented third-straight NCAA Div I FCS Championship.
  • Appalachian and the Community Together
    Hearts and Hands at Work
    Appalachian students can express their benevolent spirit through community service, service-learning, and community-based research opportunities.
  • Enhancing Diversity: The Faculty Fellows Program
    Enhancing Diversity: The Faculty Fellows Program
    Central to the depth and quality of intellectual life at Appalachian is a diverse faculty.
  • Shades of Green
    Shades of Green
    Professor Curtis Ryan dispels myths and misinformation of Islam and the Arab world.
  • Cultural Exchange
    Cultural Exchange
    15 Pakistanis strengthen their teaching skills and leave behind a better understanding of their culture.
  • A Debt-Free Education
    A Debt-Free Education
    A new scholarship fund called Appalachian Commitment to a College Education for Student Success (ACCESS) brought its first group of recipients to campus this fall.
  • A Friendship Blooms
    A Friendship Blooms
    Art faculty member April Flanders and her student Heather Owens are just one example of how Appalachian's stimulating learning community thrives both inside and outside the classroom.
  • A Beautiful Setting
    A Beautiful Setting
    Spring, summer, fall and winter bring some 30 million visitors to the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail, both just minutes from campus.
  • Global Climate Change
    Global Climate Change
    Geologist Dr. Ellen Cowan was among a select, international group of scientists who drilled the Antarctic sea floor for indications of how global warming affected our planet in the past.
  • Many Faces, Many Stories
    Many Faces, Many Stories
    Ask someone to tell their story and you'll find that no two students are alike on the Appalachian campus.
  • The Polluting of a Park
    The Polluting of a Park
    Biologist Howard Neufeld has spent 20 years documenting the impact of ozone on native plants in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
  • Champion Cyclists
    Champion Cyclists
    The Appalachian Cycling Team - one of 20 club sports on campus - is a four-time winner of the Atlantic Coast Cycling Conference for road racing.
  • Exercise and the Immune System
    Exercise and the Immune System
    Keeping athletes healthy is a passion for David Nieman, a world-renowned expert in nutrition and exercise science.
  • A Student-run Record Label
    A Student-run Record Label
    In the Hayes School of Music, students expand their knowledge of the recording industry by signing, recording and marketing local bands through their own record label called Split Rail Records.

The Power of Mentoring - Carolyn Clark '04

Read about Amy Sarno

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Carolyn Clark

Carolyn Clark is a corporate communications manager for Yahoo!

Carolyn Clark

Carolyn Clark, originally from Harrisburg N.C., in New York City.

Patrick Setzer with Emma Rice

Former Ambassador Advisor and mentor to Carolyn, Patrick Setzer, with senior Emma Rice.

 

Meaningful relationships are a hallmark of an Appalachian education. Carolyn Clark (see below) and Amy Sarno each have achieved career success in part because of caring professors and alumni who value being of service to others.

From internship to career

Carolyn Clark took a chance on applying for a New York City early career program, and the experience has dramatically shaped her career.

Acceptance into the prestigious NBC Page Program took her from producing local morning news to working on “Saturday Night Live” and “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” which later led to a job with a public relations firm and most recently a position with Yahoo!.

“For 25 years old, I’ve done a lot in my career and had some unbelievable experiences,” says Clark.  She is now a corporate communications manager for Yahoo!

Faculty mentors played an important role

The communication major credits Appalachian State University mentors for her success. “Appalachian prepared me to go and take new adventures,” she says. “I think being accepted into the NBC Page Program was really because of some of the faculty members who mentored me, particularly Kevin Balling and Larry Cornelison in the communication department, and Patrick Setzer, a communication alumnus who led the Appalachian Student Ambassador program.”

As a student, Clark worked at Mountain Television Network in Boone and led campus tours to prospective students. After graduation she worked at WCTI, an ABC affiliate in New Bern, N.C., before applying for the NBC Page Program.

The NBC Page Program accepts only 50 people a year from some 15,000 applications. “I was going against people from Harvard and Yale,” Clark recalls. To her delight, she got in. As an NBC Page, Clark learned the nuts and bolts of network television and worked with celebrities. Among her opportunities, she served as Conan O’Brien’s assistant and head production assistant for a Hurricane Katrina relief concert.

Upon completing her internship, Clark received an offer to help a CEO start The Dowd Agency, a company specializing in media relations, crisis communications, event planning, image consulting and community relations. As director of operations and senior account executive, Clark worked with clients such as Donald Trump, Mark Burnette Productions, and Yahoo!

Impressed by her work, Yahoo! in late 2007 recruited her as corporate communications manager to work with its newly developed Consumer Team. She develops stories for a variety of media that promote the company’s products for consumers. “It is very creative and challenging. I love it,” she says.

Appalachian, the place to be

In selecting a college, Clark said she was attracted to Appalachian in large part for its atmosphere.

“I walked onto campus when I was a prospective student and felt that it was the right place. From day one, people were smiling at me and I just knew it was the right place to be. I’ve never regretted that decision… Appalachian is the place to be, really.

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