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Enrollment Management and Services 
Community College Collaboration (C3)

About

Learn about our purpose, our people, and the community college partnerships that make C3 a successful path to NC State.

Our Mission

The C3 program aims to increase enrollment and bachelor’s degree completion among low-to-moderate income, rural, under-resourced, military-affiliated, and first-generation transfer students. Through partnerships with select community colleges, we work together to ensure access and success across the transfer lifespan.

We envision a smooth transition and timely graduation for transfer students who will grow and develop into leaders within their communities.

What is C3?

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Our C3 Partners

Working closely with our community college partners gives us a unique understanding of how we can best help students across North Carolina. Together C3 advisors at NC State and at our partner community colleges ensure students have access to the information they need to reach their academic goals.

Our Staff

Holly Cowfer

Program Assistant

P: 919.515.0698
E: hecamer2@ncsu.edu

Holly Cowfer is a proud alum of NC State. She was a community college transfer herself and knows the importance of transfer advising. She’s worked at NC State for over 5 years and has loved every minute of it.

Holly’s favorite parts of working with C3 are planning unique events (hello, financial aid information session and dairy tour combination!) and helping students realize that they can come to NC State via the community college system.

Jen Foster

Program Coordinator

P: 919.515.9183
E: jmfoster@ncsu.edu

Jen Foster is a proud grad of NC State. With 20+ years of experience in admissions, financial aid, and scholarship programs, she may not know the answer but she knows how to find it.

Jen’s favorite parts of working in C3 are writing really long emails and helping students build connections with others. She makes sure that Howling Cow ice cream is a central part of lots of C3 events.

Martha Harmening

Director

P: 919.515.5395
E: maharmen@ncsu.edu

Martha is a proud two-time NC State alum with over 25 years of experience in higher education. She has spent most of her career working at NC State and loves all things Wolfpack. One of her favorite things about working at NC State is the energy of being on a university campus, surrounded by students, faculty and staff all working together.

Martha grew up in a small town in southeastern North Carolina (she likes to point out that her hometown was smaller than NC State’s freshman class), and she began her NC State career as a transfer student … so she understands some of the challenges that transfer students face when starting at NC State. She loves being a part of the C3 team and helping other students navigate the transition to NC State.

Shantel Luckey

Associate Director

P: 919.515.0703
E: dbluckey@ncsu.edu

Shantel Luckey has a broad set of experiences across the K-12 setting, in North Carolina community colleges, and in advising/teaching at NC State. As a first-generation college student, she understands how important it is to have help-seeking behaviors and create a strong support system.

Shantel is passionate about assisting students as they consider and plan out their college academic journey, and she enjoys getting to know each of the students in the C3 program better.

Suzannah Palumbo

Assistant Director

P: 919.515.0292
E: slpalumb@ncsu.edu

Suzannah Palumbo has dedicated her career to elevating underserved college students. Being a first-generation college student herself and an alumnus of Appalachian State University’s TRIO Student Support Services program, she has a passion for ensuring that first-generation college students feel a sense of belonging and empowerment.

Her Social Work background and previous experience working for TRIO at Appalachian State University and Central Carolina Community College allow her to look at students from a holistic perspective and meet them where they are in order to help them define and achieve their goals. She loves getting to help students build their confidence, connections, and exposure to various experiences and opportunities.

Yesenia Pedro Vicente

Assistant Director

P: 919.515.8826
E: ypedrov@ncsu.edu

Yesenia Pedro Vicente has over a decade of experience supporting students across the educational pipeline, from high school through graduate school. As a first-generation college student, pursuing higher education was transformational for Yesenia. She is grateful for the many people and resources that have supported her in academic endeavors. For this reason, Yesenia has dedicated her career to paying it forward to future generations. She is excited to be part of the C3 team and looks forward to engaging with current and future NC State students.