The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1513610
8 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ WOLFPACK CLUB NEWS Where did you grow up? Raleigh. What college did you graduate from? University of North Carolina. What are your responsi- bilities with the Wolfpack Club? I'm the director of annual giving and oversee a team of four right now, about to be five. We are in charge of all of our annual dollars for the Wolfpack Club. Before you were with the Wolfpack Club, what did you do? I worked at the University of Virginia in their athletics foundation. I was the director of their annual fund, and before that I was an assistant director on the annual fund team. How did you join the Wolfpack Club? I'm from Raleigh, and I was looking at ways to get back. I felt like I had done my time at UVA, and I was ready for that next step, something a little different. I started looking at jobs that were more in this area, and the NC State positon came open. I initially thought, "I don't know if they would hire a Caro- lina grad." I was asked about it through my interview if I could wear red and cheer for State. I have cousins and an uncle that went to NC State. I was raised in Raleigh, and I was very familiar with State fans. I love the passion and the loyalty that this fan base has. This is my third school, and there's nothing like it in terms of fans. Win, lose, whatever, they are the most pas- sionate people that I've ever met, and I wanted a different challenge with that. To be able to have that game-day ex- perience that NC State offers is some- thing really unique, especially in the ACC. All of that led me to look for this job and to take it. I was supervising one person at UVA, and to now have five people under me is a huge thing. I will say my boyfriend from Charlot- tesville also moved to Raleigh, so there was a little bit of that incentive to move down here and to be close to family. It was kind of a perfect storm of ev- erything: moving back home, moving in with him and finding a job that spoke to me and gave me a new challenge. All three of those things led me back to Ra- leigh. What's your favorite part of the job? It's either football game days or doing our events throughout the state. Last summer, we did a brewery tour, and we went to different cities in the state of North Carolina, one or two in Virginia and one in South Carolina. We got to meet Wolfpackers from all over, and a lot of them aren't members of the Wolfpack Club. The whole point was to say thank you to our current members and to try to find new members. We met people in all these cities, sup- ported local businesses, met people that just love NC State and are so passionate. We got to hear their stories that they went there or their kids went there or their grandkids went there or they grew up a State fan. Those kinds of stories and meeting people not in Raleigh, but everywhere, I think that's one of my favorite parts. And then obviously foot- ball game day. We have the best tailgating atmosphere in the ACC, certainly, and probably close to [the best atmosphere] in the coun- try. I'm sure we're top five if we're not the top. To be a part of that, just walk around on game day, feel that energy and talk to people, that's what really excites me. Do you have any pets? We have a dog named Nel- lie. We just adopted her in October, and she will be 1 in January. She's a rescue. She's a mutt, some sort of hound mix. We have no idea, but she's a sweetheart. What are your hobbies? I teach yoga three times a week at a studio in Raleigh, and that's been really fun. I'm a big runner. I'm cur- rently training for the Walt Disney World Marathon in January. It will be my third marathon, and we'll see how that goes. Other than that, I like to read a lot. Favorite TV show: "Friends." Favorite movie: "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Favorite musical artist: Zach Bryan. Favorite restaurant: Probably ei- ther Five Star in downtown Raleigh or Gravy. Favorite Wolfpack memory: I think the basketball game against Caro- lina back in February. I was coming off of bronchitis, and I didn't have most of my voice. It was the first time I had been to a Carolina vs. NC State game, which for me was a big deal. I was wearing en- tirely red, and I was screaming with the little voice I had. It was the loudest that I've ever seen PNC. Truly amazing. I feel like we achieve that a lot with football, but it's also great to see it in basketball and to really be able to say, "This is awesome." And of course, beat- ing Carolina is just even better because I get to go to all my friends and say, "See, NC State's great." ■ Wayland had been looking to return to her native Raleigh and was excited about the opportunity to join the Wolfpack Club. PHOTO COURTESY EMILY WAYLAND WOLFPACK CLUB STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Emily Wayland, Director of Annual Giving