Outstanding Young Alums

The NC State Alumni Association recognized two outstanding young alumni at its Evening of Stars gala.

Both award recipients were Caldwell Fellows and both earned majors or minors in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Tony Caravano (Sociology ’04) served two terms as student body president. After graduation, he worked for the president pro tem of the North Carolina Senate, as a consultant to the general administration of the University of North Carolina system, as deputy state director for U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan and as a vice president with Compass Group USA. Now he is a principal in business development and university relations with Amazon Campus.

Vansana Nolintha (Chemistry ’09, minor in Religious Studies) immersed himself in religious studies, art, design and chemistry at NC State. After earning a master’s degree in international peace and conflict resolution from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, Nolintha returned to Raleigh, where he and his sister opened Bida Manda, a hugely popular Laotian restaurant.

This article first appeared in the college’s Accolades 2015 magazine.