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Dave & Sara Doeren Donate $1.25 million to Establish New Program at NC State

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A generous gift from Dave and Sara Doeren will establish a new initiative at NC State to support students with executive functioning challenges and those who are neurodivergent.

Their $1.25 million commitment is among the largest made by a college football coach to his NCAA-member institution. Dave Doeren has been NC State’s head coach since the 2013 season.

“As a public, land-grant institution, NC State is committed to enrolling and empowering a wide range of students,” Chancellor Randy Woodson said. “We are honored to collaborate with the Doerens to provide additional support for talented students, so they can think and do to their full potential. This gift truly reinforces our core values of community and inclusion.

“Philanthropy helps our university innovate and achieve an even higher level of greatness. We thank the Doerens for being leaders for the entire Wolfpack and for establishing this meaningful family legacy.”

The new program being launched through the Doeren Family Fund will be called OnePack Empowered and will benefit NC State students who face challenges with executive function skills critical to academic success, such as organization, planning, setting priorities, task completion and decision making. Autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are just two of the diagnoses that could be linked to challenges in this realm, but students with these challenges also might have no formal diagnosis.

With a focus on one-on-one mentoring, individual support plans, career readiness and additional specialized assistance, the program is being designed to bolster academic and personal success and ensure students can complete their degrees.

The Doerens’ commitment will pilot the program for five years, serving up to 50 students at a time. They hope to inspire other donors to join them in contributing to OnePack Empowered as a sustainable source of support and guidance for an expanding number of participants over the next several years.

“This is about leveling the playing field so students can chase their dreams,” Dave Doeren said. “It’s about hope and creating a safe place for this population of students to go and get their needs met. We are hopeful that idea resonates with a lot of alumni and other people connected to NC State.

“It’s something the school needs and the students need, and God’s given us the ability to help,” he added.

NC State’s Division of Academic and Student Affairs (DASA) will oversee OnePackEmpowered and staff are preparing for a spring 2024 launch. Doneka Scott, vice chancellor and dean of DASA, expressed gratitude to the Doerens for recognizing a gap and stepping up to bridge it.

“This is an amazing opportunity for our institution and especially for our students who will benefit from this wraparound program,” Scott said. “The first goals in our university and DASA strategic plans are centered on students and ensuring their success. We are so grateful to the Doerens for their vision of investing in this underserved student population.

“We know this added support will change lives.”

Boo Corrigan, NC State’s director of athletics, also praised the Doerens for setting an example of giving back.

“Dave and Sara’s generosity, commitment and vision for this program will benefit so many students for years to come. I’m excited to see the impact of OnePack Empowered and I am so proud that he is the leader of our football program,” Corrigan said.

The gift represents a next step in the Doerens’ longtime, passionate advocacy and support for people with disabilities. That passion has been near and dear to their hearts, dating back two decades to their own son Jacob’s diagnosis placing him on the autism spectrum as a preschooler.

At the time, Doeren served on the football coaching staff at the University of Kansas. Jacob, the oldest of the family’s three boys, seemed to demonstrate a few developmental delays.

“We spent three or four hours watching behind one-way glass while doctors ran all of these tests,” Doeren said. “Afterward, they told us that we needed to be prepared for our son to never live outside our home or to never have a job. I was so angry. I told the doctor, ‘You have no idea what my son is capable of. How dare you limit him?’

“Since then we’ve been on a journey where we’ve gotten to meet some incredible people, but also some incredibly limiting people, situations and labels.”

As challenging as navigating grades K-12 can be for a family with a child who has disabilities, academic, social and employment opportunities can become even more limited by the time that child graduates from high school.

The Doerens have been vital advocates behind the launch of 321 Coffee, started by two Park Scholars and staffed by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and for efforts like hiring employees with special needs in the Murphy Center’s dining operation. The NC State football team regularly interacts with and supports groups such as GiGi’s Playhouse, which provides programming and support for people with Down syndrome.

Most of the Doerens’ personal philanthropy also has been centered on efforts to enhance opportunities for youth with special needs, such as gifts toward inclusive middle-school athletics programming.

After graduating from high school in Wake County, Jacob attended Louisburg College. The Learning Partners program there helped him navigate note-taking, time management, study skills and the like. He graduated with a 3.75 grade-point average and solid preparation to apply successfully to Appalachian State.

“The kindest people there at Louisburg just poured into our son,” Doeren said.

At Appalachian, where he’s currently a junior studying sustainable energy and technology, Jacob has benefited from a similar program called As-U-R. Weekly sessions with a mentor have proven vital to managing class assignments, advocating for himself with professors or asking for a few accommodations when needed.

The Doerens initiated conversations several months ago with Woodson and others at the university about how they could support something similar here.

“Jacob is doing so well,” Sara Doeren said. “We just want other students to have the same opportunities. It made sense to help make that happen at NC State.”

“At some point, I definitely thought, ‘It’s too bad the school I work at, with so many alumni, in the capital city of North Carolina and so many young people who could benefit in Wake County alone, doesn’t have something like this,'” Dave Doeren said. “Why wouldn’t we be at the forefront? I was very thankful Chancellor Woodson understood the need and opportunity at NC State.”

Kesha Reed, associate vice chancellor and associate dean in DASA, is excited about OnePack Empowered. Reed brings expertise in underserved student populations and disability support programming. “There is a definite need for this,” she said.

The application process is being developed. Admission to OnePack Empowered will be individualized, inclusive and open, Reed said, with students not required to have a formal diagnosis registered through the university’s Disability Resource Office. However, for context, she said that of the 1,845 students currently registered with the office, 57% could potentially have challenges with executive functioning.

“We’re not talking about students being admitted [NC State] through a special process,” Doeren said. “We’re talking about students who have been accepted to the university, who are very academically capable but might benefit from something as simple as a mentor to walk consistently alongside them. This is a special group of people who too often get labeled and limited. Instead of avenues for success they get roadblocks.

“I’d like to open people’s eyes to the fact that with just a little extra support, a lot of kids can be wildly successful.”

Much of the new funding for OnePack Empowered will go toward adding dedicated staff and training them. Reed said the program will be able to utilize and leverage an existing structure within DASA that includes the Academic Success Center, Disability Resource Office, Advising and Exploratory Studies as well as take advantage of embedded resources such as counselors, tutors and academic and career advisors.

OnePack Empowered will be housed under the umbrella of the Career Development Center, and its career-preparation emphasis will be fairly unique.

A cornerstone will be carefully trained student mentors who will be paired with participants as role models and links to resources. Parent engagement will be incorporated into the program as a vital element as well.

“We’re looking at holistic support that’s really helping students build that self-confidence that they can be partners in working toward their success,” Reed said. “We’re guiding them in that process. We want to build a community that students want to be part of, where they can be excited and engaged.”

Reed and other staff members are in the midst of hiring a program manager to direct OnePack Empowered and to plan for additional staffing. They have developed a framework that includes four learning outcomes for students:

  • Identify, prioritize and use campus resources that support their NC State success.
  • Develop a success plan to accomplish their academic and career goals.
  • Evaluate successful and challenging experiences to guide decision-making.
  • Develop a sense of community within the OnePack Empowered cohort.

In addition to the program at Appalachian State that focuses on students with executive functioning challenges, Reed said there are two other UNC System institutions providing individualized support for students with specific disabilities: STEPP at East Carolina University and The Learning Center at UNC-Chapel Hill, both of which focus on ADHD and other specific disabilities.

“One of the things that college is supposed to do is prepare you to succeed in the real world,” Doeren said. “We’re failing a lot of kids in our country. The biggest leading factor is people not believing in themselves or having someone else to believe in them. That’s what OnePack Empowered is about: caring about this part of our community.”

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Dof87
Dof87
11 months ago

So proud to have a coach like Doeren. Hope he’s around for a long, long time.

Papajohn
Papajohn
11 months ago

Incredible! The Doeren’s are an inspiration.

NC State Football

DJ Burns Had a Word for Wolfpack Fans After Winning the ACC Championship

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When NC State’s DJ Burns was giving his acceptance speech after receiving the 2024 ACC Tournament MVP Award, Burns had the following quote to say when asked what he wanted to say to the fans.

“I’m going to keep it real simple. Thank you to the ones who’ve been consistent throughout the ride, and welcome back everybody else.”

Burns’ words struck a chord.

Throughout much of this season, it was embarrassing to see all the empty seats in PNC Arena.

As the Wolfpack lost 7 of their final 9 regular season games, it was clear that this team wasn’t just losing games, but they were also losing much of the fanbase.

It’s clear from Burns’ words that the empty seats were noticed, and so were the words of fans online.

NC State finished the regular season 10th, and much of the fanbase was frustrated, and rightfully so.

But, frustrated doesn’t have to mean giving up.

‘Never giving up’ is kind of supposed to be NC State’s thing.

The words of Jimmy V reverberate throughout the history of NC State basketball.

This team didn’t always put W’s in the Win column this season, and it wasn’t always an easy watch, but never for a moment were these players not playing as hard as they could for their school, one another, and their coach.

They never gave up.

Fans have a right to be frustrated, but you can still show up for a team, even when they struggle, because that’s what loyal fans do. When players wear a jersey with NC State across the chest, and they don’t give up, their fans shouldn’t either.

NC State fans aren’t known to be fair weather fans. Let’s not get in the business of leading our players to think we are.

But, like Burns said, whether you’ve been along for the ride all season or not, it’s time to hop on.

 

 

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NC State Football

WATCH: PackInsider’s 2023 Sean Brown Highlight Reel

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This past season was a breakout season for Junior Safety, now turned Linebacker, Sean Brown.

This past season, Brown started in 11 of the 13 games that he played in, and ranked 3rd on the team in tackles (66) and pass breakups (5). He also had 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble. Brown’s PFF Grade of 63.7 ranked 13th on the team. His Tackling Grade of 86.6 ranked 2nd on the team behind Payton Wilson.

As you will notice in our Highlight Reel ABOVE, Brown lived in the box, and is a very ferocious tackler. He will fit right in at Linebacker next year for the Wolfpack.

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NC State Football

NC State’s Aydan White Has All-American Aspirations on His Mind

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NC State fans are extremely happy that Senior Cornerback Aydan White decided to return to Raleigh for his final year of eligibility, rather than remaining in the Transfer Portal.

White is happy he’s back as well.

“I’m just happy to be back at NC State,” said White. “It’s a good group of guys here. Just want to keep building on what we have in this defense and offense, and be the best team we can be.”

It’s hard for White to believe that he’s an old man on the Wolfpack’s football team now.

“It’s crazy just thinking about how my time has flown,” said White. “I’m now the guy that drops Freshmen off at Wolf Village, when I used to be that guy that was picked up from Wolf Village to go to practice. Definitely just trying to encourage them and get them on the right path.”

Not only could White have remained in the Transfer Portal, but he also could have left for the NFL Draft, but after hearing from NFL Scouts, he determined he still had unfinished business to take care of.

“They want to see more on-ball production. Last year I had a drop off in on-ball production. The PBU’s are good, but they want interceptions, making a play on the ball more. Being more sticky around the ball,” said White. “Just being in that position to make that play, because when you get to the league, those guys are bigger, faster and stronger, so if you can make it here, it will translate to the higher level.”

When asked on Thursday what the next step was for him as a Senior, after already proving so much, he kept his responses simple and concise.

“Keep stacking accolades. Getting better,” said White. “Helping the secondary. All-American.”

NC State’s Football program has produced an All-American in 4 consecutive seasons, with Linebacker Payton Wilson being the most recent.

2020: DT Alim McNeil – PFF (1st) AP (2nd)
2021: OT Ikem Ekwonu – Consensus 1st Team
2021: KR Zonovan Knight (CBS Sports)
2022: PK Christopher Dunn – Consensus 1st Team
2022: LS Joe Shimko – AFCA (2nd)
2023: LB Payton Wilson – Unanimous 1st Team

Could White make it 5 years in a row?

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NC State’s Wesley Grimes Feels Good Being Back Home

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When Wake Forest Wide Receiver Wesley Grimes announced he was transferring to NC State on December 8th, he was committing to come back home.

Before playing his first two years of college football at Wake Forest, Grimes was a 4-star prospect at Millbrook High School, right down the road from NC State in Raleigh. ON3, 247Sports and Rivals all ranked Grimes as a Top-250 prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, with Rivals ranking him as the #36 overall player nationally, the #4 Wide Receiver, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.

For Grimes, Raleigh is home.

“It feels great. I feel real comfortable. I’ve trained in this facility a lot,” said Grimes. “I’ve worked out here a lot. I’m used to a lot of the stuff around here. So playing here feels like home.”

Home is a place, but home is also people. Grimes isn’t just coming home to a place on a map that is familiar. He’s also coming back to people he grew up playing football with, dating all the way back to 4th and 5th grade.

“It feels great (playing with Noah Rogers). It’s not just Noah. I played with Coelson (Fields) in Pop Warner. I played with Lex (Thomas) in Pop Warner,” said Grimes. “Just a bunch of guys I played with around Middle School age, 5th grade…4th grade. I played 7-on-7 with Keenan (Jackson). I knew of Terrell (Anderson). We’re all close. Being back with everyone is a good feeling. When you play with your brothers, it’s a fun time again.”

Maybe the most noteworthy connection Grimes had was with Noah Rogers, who like Grimes, just transferred back to Raleigh (from Ohio St.). Grimes played for Millbrook, and Rogers played for Rolesville, but the connection went back way further than that.

“Noah (Rogers) and I started playing Pop Warner together in 3rd or 4th grade. We played against each other. I played for Cap City and he played for North Raleigh,” said Grimes. “7th grade year we went to Disney, and got close. We started training in Covid a lot together, and got real close. In High School we played against each other. We’ve always been competing, getting each other better.”

Check out the highlight reel of Grimes and Rogers that went viral a few years back.

In the end, some of the players Grimes had connections with went to NC State, while others, went elsewhere, like himself. Nonetheless, like Grimes, they all found their way back home.

“Out of high school, we definitely talked about it a little bit, but we all went our different ways,” said Grimes. “We were all at different times, and we decided to go our separate ways, but in kind of a full circle moment, we all ended up in the same place, and it all worked out for the better.”

 

 

 

 

 

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