The Albright Entrepreneurs Village (AEV), located on Centennial Campus, is NC State’s living and learning community for student entrepreneurs. AEV provides sophomores and above the opportunity to experience entrepreneurship on and off-campus.
Residents have the opportunity to explore their interests in a supportive community. Specialized programming includes mentorship and networking events, trips and tours, and regular meetings with alumni and startup founders. Villagers also benefit from joining like-minded peers, and peer mentors, and having access to competitions and social events all designed to expand your entrepreneurial skills and mindset in a fun environment.
The Village offers a 1-credit class during the fall semester of your first year at AEV that brings in speakers and focuses on identifying entrepreneurial opportunities and skill-building to maximize your time in the AEV.
The village also hosts year-round community socials, has a private Slack channel to communicate, and has been known to throw an awesome end-of-year BBQ, among other traditions!
The Village promotes entrepreneurial thinking and leadership development through “hands-on” activities and community speakers to gain valuable knowledge. The Village also offers design simulations and competitions with prizes to support students building ventures and encourages skill development across all disciplines and career pathways.
The Village provides professional and peer mentorship opportunities for our students to promote venture and professional skills growth for aspiring entrepreneurs. This includes eConnect, our digital advice-seeking platform featuring mentors from many different industries.
Village residents have the opportunity to attend multiple local startup tours throughout the year and an annual trip to a new city. Past annual trips have included Washington D.C. and Chicago. In addition, many Village residents take part in the fall break trip to New York City and the spring break trip to Silicon Valley offered by NC State Entrepreneurship.
The Albright Entrepreneurs Village is located in Innovation Hall in Wolf Ridge Apartments on Centennial Campus. Wolf Ridge and Innovation Hall include many wonderful amenities listed below.
On-site fitness center with free weights and cardio equipment
Full-size beach volleyball court, ping pong table, and VR equipment
Dedicated resident parking and a WolfLine bus stop right behind the building
I find it fascinating to learn about new things and innovative ideas, and I feel that the people in AEV very much have this mindset!
Katie Nelson
Albright Entrepreneurship Villager
How to Join
Applications for the Albright Entrepreneurs Village open in early spring during housing selection for fall move-in. Schedule a meeting with us to learn more about the Village experience, tour a sample apartment or discuss availability options.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION
Currently have and maintain at least a 2.0 GPA
Have no active or pending conduct or academic integrity cases
Be eligible to live in Wolf Ridge Apartments (Transfer, Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Graduate)
Applications for Wolf Ridge Apartments and the Village may be accessed through MyPack Portal.
Spots fill up quickly so be sure to apply or make contact with the village director as soon as possible!
Villagers learn about entrepreneurship outside of the classroom as a part of our regular field experiences. We visit social enterprise startups, tech startups, arts ventures and alumni-owned businesses of all kinds.
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History of the AEV
Andy Albright, the co-founder and president/CEO of National Agents Alliance (NAA), and his wife Jane made a $5,000,000 gift to establish the Albright Entrepreneurs Village on Centennial Campus for student entrepreneurs. The Albright’s gift marks the first-named living and learning village at the university.
The Andrews Launch Accelerator helps NC State founders turn their visions into reality. 🌟
Through a generous donation from Lyn and Chip Andrews, we allocate equity-free seed capital to startups that complete the Accelerator. This program gives @ncstate founders the opportunity to jumpstart their entrepreneurial journey. We provide founders with funding, resources and guidance to take their startup to the next level.
So, what makes a qualified team? Any team with a member that has ties to NC State either as an undergraduate student, graduate student or a recent alumnus (up to 5 years post-graduation) from any NC State program.
There is no doubt the Albright Entrepreneurs Village (AEV) knows how to have fun! They kicked off this semester with a pizza party for all residents. 🍕Students also collect points for attending events that give them the chance to earn t-shirts!
If you are interested in being a part of this community, don`t forget to apply to this living learning village through @ncstatehousing by tomorrow, Feb. 4. A special thank you to @andysalbright for his support of this Village and entrepreneurship at NC State.
The NC State Entrepreneurship Alliance is a federation of university departments, programs and groups offering opportunities for the NC State community to learn and explore various aspects of entrepreneurship. Member organizations collaborate on events and meet often to discuss and share new initiatives.
Together this group works to advance the culture of entrepreneurship throughout the university. With over 20 members students have access to many different resources to help them succeed and achieve their goals.
"My name is Juliana Bohland and I am a second-year master`s student in the Higher Education Administration program here at NC State! I have had the pleasure of serving as the Graduate Assistant for the Albright Entrepreneurs Village the past year and a half, but my journey into the world of Entrepreneurship was definitely unplanned and unintentional. Needless to say, I am so glad I`ve had the opportunity to work with this incredible community of students and staff! I vividly remember interviewing for the position thinking, "what in the world are they doing interviewing me?" During the conversation, I am pretty sure I even said, "I really don`t know much about entrepreneurship." My background is in Public Relations and I am in this master`s program so I can set myself up to one day be a successful development officer for an institution. How would that be connected to entrepreneurship? Fast forward a few months and I found myself TA-ing a course about entrepreneurship! Through the course, I quickly learned that entrepreneurship is everywhere and its skills are transferrable to any and all industries - even mine. It is inspiring to see my students learn, grow, and thrive in this environment, and I can`t wait to continue to cheer them on throughout their careers!"
#FacesofthePack Meet Juliana Bohland (@jules_bohl), a masters student in the Higher Education Administration program at @ncstateced. Juliana is also the Graduate Assistant for the #AlbrightVillage.
The next Design Challenge Series will be starting on Feb. 1. Stay tuned to find out what the next challenge will be. 🚀
The Design Challenge Series gives students the opportunity to solve real world problems. At the end of the month, students will submit a solution statement and their prototype for judging. The winners get bragging rights and NC State Entrepreneurship swag.
Pro-Series: Make It, Snap It, Sell It gives students the opportunity to gain the skills to create something in our prototyping lab, get hands-on training on how to professionally photograph the item, and ultimately get the tools you need to sell it.
The first session is on Feb. 1 from 11 am - 12 pm at the Garage. Space is limited so sign up now!
The Albright Entrepreneurs Village (AEV) is located on Centennial Campus near the Oval. With some of the nicest dorms on campus, students are eager to live here.
The AEV is home to a community of entrepreneurial-minded students. It is a great way to get connected with other students and the local Raleigh community. Through fun activities such as paddle boarding and costume contests to field trips with startups in the Triangle and the connection with incredible professional mentors, AEV fosters a welcoming and diverse environment for sophomores and above.
This living-learning village has a variety of traditions, such as Open Door Tuesdays, which allows residents to meet and greet with other villagers, and Entrepreneurship Elimination Competition — an assassins style game. These traditions, benefits and experiences create the unique living situation that is the Albright Entrepreneurs Village.
Applications to live at the Albright Entrepreneurs Village open in November and close in early February.
A weekend FULL of all-out innovation. Students compete in teams to create the best solution to a sustainability challenge. Whether it’s about water, waste, energy, transportation or food — that’s up to you and your team to decide.
At the end of the competition, you will pitch your idea to judges from the community and local companies. And, yes, there are prizes for the winning teams: $2,000 for first place, $1,000 for second place and $500 for third place.
NC State Entrepreneurship serves as a unifying hub for entrepreneurship across campus.
We believe that whether you want to start your own business or work in an established company, anyone can become an entrepreneur at NC State. Through a wealth of programs and initiatives, we provide you with everything you need to grow your entrepreneurial mindset.
While we have a large entrepreneurship alliance across campus, our homebase is on Centennial Campus in the Partners I building across from the Hunt Library.
Katie Lawson (@katie_lawson10) came to @ncstate from Apex, NC and is now graduating with a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering with a minor in Cognitive Science from the College of Engineering.
Katie’s college career was nothing less than spectacular. She was an Entrepreneurship Student Ambassador and Entrepreneurship Scholar, a resident at the Albright Entrepreneurs Village, a member of the Pack Motorsports Baja Racing Team and an undergraduate research assistant. Katie recognizes the impact these extracurricular experiences have had on her life and sat down to reflect with us as she approaches graduation.
Keep reading about Katie`s story with the link in our bio.
We are so thankful to have had such an amazing fall semester! It was great to be back on campus, hosting in-person events and connecting with students.
Check out these pictures for a quick fall recap. 📸 Don`t forget to keep a look out for our spring semester plans!
Five student teams battled it out in front of the wolves in this Shark Tank-inspired pitch competition. Meet the winners of the 2021 Wolf Den Competition below.
Wake – $800 Judge Award and $300 Audience Choice Award • Adarsh Arun (@adarsh_is_my_name), Business Administration • Noah Gassner (@noahgassner), Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Dynamic Internal Volume Actuator (D.I.V.A.) – $600 Judge Award • Travis McKay, PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering • Taylor Gabaldon, Biomedical Engineering Master`s alumni
Straight Shot – $200 Judge Award • Jacob Walker (@jacoba_w17), Electrical and Computer Engineering • Trenton Wallis (@trenton_wallis), Electrical and Computer Engineering • Spencer Wallis (@lespencerlxix), Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering • David Horne (@david_horne19), Economics • Ryan Coman, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
EndorseAthlete (@endorseathlete) – $200 Judge Award • Walt Sellars (@walt_sellars), Sport Management
Thank you to our wolves: • Téa Blumer (@teablumer), CEO of HelloPaint (@iscribblesocial) • Ryan Clodfelter (@ryclod), SMB Territory Manager at Citrix (@citrix) • Cathy Gomes (@cgomes92), CEO and Founder of 700 Rivers (@700rivers)
Featured colleges: @ncstatecnr @ncstatepoole @ncstateengr @ncstatealumni
Kai Bele (@kaibele) is a sophomore studying business administration with a concentration in entrepreneurship at @ncstatepoole. He is a resident at the Albright Entrepreneurs Village and an Entrepreneurship Student Ambassador.
He is taking over our Instagram story to show you around the Albright Entrepreneurs Village and the Entrepreneurship Garage.
Back in 2016, Andy Albright (@andysalbright) and his wife, Jane, made an investment in entrepreneurship at @ncstate with a generous $5 million dollar donation that allowed us to build the Albright Entrepreneurs Village on Centennial Campus.
As an NC State alum, from @ncstatewilson, Andy wanted to give students the opportunity to make a big change in the world.
Five years later, the Albright Entrepreneurs Village is booming with fun activities and lots of traditions it is the place to live on campus. You can apply now to live in the AEV next year with the link in our bio.
"When I committed to my study abroad semester in the US, I had no idea what to expect. I didn`t know what the Albright Entrepreneurs Village was or how big the entrepreneurial community at NC State would be. Coming here from one of the smallest countries in Europe, everything was on a new scale. It was all the more surprising how welcoming the whole community was.
In the few weeks I was able to spend here at NC State, I met so many people from all over the world. Every single person I spoke to had a different background and different goals and ambitions in life. Everyone was open to sharing their story and helping each other along the way. The support you get in this community is just incredible."
#FacesofthePack Meet Noah Gassner (@noahgassner), an exchange student studying Aerospace Engineering at @ncstateengr. He is also a member of the #AlbrightVillage!
Let us show you what the Albright Entrepreneurs Village (AEV) is all about!!
🏡 An amazing community 🚀 Live with students that are passionate about entrepreneurship 💡Learn about what entrepreneurship has to offer you 🐺 Attend events where you can learn about entrepreneurship and meet local entrepreneurs
Apply to join the #AlbrightVillage today! 🤩 Link in bio.
It seems fitting that the last #MentorshipMeetup of the semester falls during #GlobalEntrepreneurshipWeek! Join us on Nov. 11 at 6 pm for free food, drinks and fun at @revgennc on Hillsborough St.
If you are an @ncstate student looking to start your own business or you want to expand your network for whatever your future holds, the Entrepreneurship Mentorship Meetup is the place for you!
Here you can learn more about entrepreneurship, meet your peers and gain knowledge from our experience mentors.
We host this event in partnership with @ncstateeclinic!
#DidYouKnow that @ncstatehousing applications for the #AlbrightVillage open in mid-November? 🏡
If you are a sophomore or above interested in living in a community that gives students a chance to experience entrepreneurship on and off campus and want to live with like-minded peers, be sure to keep an eye out. 👀
