By Cameron Walker<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Latasia Priest holds a degree in mechanical engineering — but instead of building machines, she spends her days building relationships. As the new assistant director of annual giving and prospect development for the <\/span>North Carolina Textile Foundation<\/span><\/a> (NCTF), she engages with young alumni every day to boost support for the <\/span>Wilson College of Textiles<\/span><\/a> at <\/span>NC State<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
1) What do you do in your spare time?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I like sports and am an avid football fan. Something my husband and I enjoy doing as a couple is watching sporting events. My favorite team is Tennessee, of course. NC State is growing on me, but nothing can overcome my love for my alma mater. I was a hostess for football when I was in college and that helped to grow my interest. Granted, I was the grandson my grandpa never had, so I was watching football when I was very young — and all the other sports that were on TV I got the typical Michael Jordan jersey when I was a kid. I like to travel, I like to cook. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
2) What destination do you like to visit the most?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Domestically, I would say Miami will always be my favorite place. So many cultures thrown together into one, and it’s a beautiful city with beautiful people. There is always the nightlife that everyone hears about, but there’s such an interesting cultural side that I think a lot of people would enjoy if they took the time to venture off the traditional path of partying and the beach.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
We want to ramp up our international travel. Cancun was gorgeous and (my husband and I) got married last April in the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana. It was amazing — best decision I ever made.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
3) You mentioned you love to cook. What\u2019s your favorite thing to make?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good old Southern anything — I’m very much a Southern belle.I like cooking big meals. My grandparents had my mom and I’m her only child, so our dinners wouldn’t be that large — maybe 4 or 5 people — but she would cook enough for 10 or 12 just in case someone was coming by. I picked up that trait to never want to have not enough…even though we don’t know that many people here. Even though I’m a pescatarian and I don’t eat meat, I like to cook big meals for others. The whole Thanksgiving meal: pecan pie, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, candied yams…all of it. I don’t just do a little bit — I do a lot. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
4) What are some of your favorite books and television shows?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’m an audiobook person. I just finished \u201cYear of Yes\u201d by Shonda Rhimes and \u201cThe Wisdom of Sundays\u201d by Oprah…I listened to that and it was a very transformational book. I would definitely suggest that for anyone. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I loved \u201cStranger Things\u201d and I can’t wait for it to come back. \u201cBlack Mirror\u201d was good. \u201cSeven Seconds\u201d was good on Netflix.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
5) How do you feel about the Wilson College of Textiles, the campus and Raleigh so far?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I feel as though this has been a very interesting experience for me coming from private, small liberal arts college back to a large university, but the family atmosphere of the Wilson College of Textiles makes it seem a lot smaller. You feel like you can go to anyone to ask questions. I really appreciated that coming into the space…everyone was very nice. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The campus is beautiful. I like being on this side of campus, but I also like being on the part of campus where Reynolds and Talley is and being able to feel the heartbeat of the university by being around students and their energy.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I like Raleigh — it’s a smaller version of Atlanta. My husband, who works for the Wolfpack Club on campus, was the reason we moved to Raleigh, so I had a bit of time while I was working remotely for Emory from last September to this February to be able to acclimate to the city and explore a little bit. It’s a good middle ground between where my alma mater was in Knoxville and Atlanta, and I love them both for different reasons. It’s a mixture of both, a small city that has a town feel. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n
By Cameron Walker<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Latasia Priest holds a degree in mechanical engineering -- but instead of building machines, she spends her days building relationships. As the new assistant director of annual giving and prospect development for the <\/span>North Carolina Textile Foundation<\/span><\/a> (NCTF), she engages with young alumni every day to boost support for the <\/span>Wilson College of Textiles<\/span><\/a> at <\/span>NC State<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
1) What do you do in your spare time?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I like sports and am an avid football fan. Something my husband and I enjoy doing as a couple is watching sporting events. My favorite team is Tennessee, of course. NC State is growing on me, but nothing can overcome my love for my alma mater. I was a hostess for football when I was in college and that helped to grow my interest. Granted, I was the grandson my grandpa never had, so I was watching football when I was very young -- and all the other sports that were on TV I got the typical Michael Jordan jersey when I was a kid. I like to travel, I like to cook. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
2) What destination do you like to visit the most?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Domestically, I would say Miami will always be my favorite place. So many cultures thrown together into one, and it's a beautiful city with beautiful people. There is always the nightlife that everyone hears about, but there's such an interesting cultural side that I think a lot of people would enjoy if they took the time to venture off the traditional path of partying and the beach.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
We want to ramp up our international travel. Cancun was gorgeous and (my husband and I) got married last April in the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana. It was amazing -- best decision I ever made.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
3) You mentioned you love to cook. What\u2019s your favorite thing to make?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good old Southern anything -- I'm very much a Southern belle.I like cooking big meals. My grandparents had my mom and I'm her only child, so our dinners wouldn't be that large -- maybe 4 or 5 people -- but she would cook enough for 10 or 12 just in case someone was coming by. I picked up that trait to never want to have not enough...even though we don't know that many people here. Even though I'm a pescatarian and I don't eat meat, I like to cook big meals for others. The whole Thanksgiving meal: pecan pie, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, candied yams...all of it. I don't just do a little bit -- I do a lot. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
4) What are some of your favorite books and television shows?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I'm an audiobook person. I just finished \u201cYear of Yes\u201d by Shonda Rhimes and \u201cThe Wisdom of Sundays\u201d by Oprah...I listened to that and it was a very transformational book. I would definitely suggest that for anyone. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I loved \u201cStranger Things\u201d and I can't wait for it to come back. \u201cBlack Mirror\u201d was good. \u201cSeven Seconds\u201d was good on Netflix.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
5) How do you feel about the Wilson College of Textiles, the campus and Raleigh so far?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I feel as though this has been a very interesting experience for me coming from private, small liberal arts college back to a large university, but the family atmosphere of the Wilson College of Textiles makes it seem a lot smaller. You feel like you can go to anyone to ask questions. I really appreciated that coming into the space...everyone was very nice. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
The campus is beautiful. I like being on this side of campus, but I also like being on the part of campus where Reynolds and Talley is and being able to feel the heartbeat of the university by being around students and their energy.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I like Raleigh -- it's a smaller version of Atlanta. My husband, who works for the Wolfpack Club on campus, was the reason we moved to Raleigh, so I had a bit of time while I was working remotely for Emory from last September to this February to be able to acclimate to the city and explore a little bit. It's a good middle ground between where my alma mater was in Knoxville and Atlanta, and I love them both for different reasons. It's a mixture of both, a small city that has a town feel. <\/span><\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Latasia Priest holds a degree in mechanical engineering — but instead of building machines, she spends her days building relationships. As the new assistant director of annual giving and prospect development for the North Carolina Textile Foundation (NCTF), she engages with young alumni every day to boost support for the College of Textiles at NC State.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":25036,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"caption\":\"\",\"displayCategoryID\":2149}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[489,742,490],"tags":[714,1133,697,683,654,1134,1135,1136,507],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-11213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-giving-back","category-newswire","category-our-people","tag-college-of-textiles","tag-latasia-priest","tag-nc-state","tag-nctf","tag-north-carolina-textile-foundation","tag-scholarship-funding","tag-textile-philanthropy","tag-textile-scholarship","tag-young-alumni"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":{"ncst_posts_meta_modified_date":null},"yoast_head":"