{"id":1182,"date":"2024-02-08T10:06:12","date_gmt":"2024-02-08T15:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/2024\/02\/08\/ready-for-launch\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T01:25:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T05:25:57","slug":"ready-for-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.ucomm.ncsu.edu\/web-platform-free-tier\/2024\/02\/08\/ready-for-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Ready for Launch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Dr. Long V. Nguyen found his way to NC State decades ago because of the launch of a satellite \u2013 Sputnik<\/em>, to be exact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the alumnus looks back fondly at a college experience that launched him toward success \u2013 although in a slightly different direction than originally planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nguyen and his wife, Kimmy T. Duong, recently honored that NC State experience, as well as two of his mentors, with the establishment of the Raymond Murray and Wesley Doggett Extraordinary Opportunity Scholarship to benefit undergraduate students in the College of Sciences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a way of paying back the opportunity Nguyen received after the Soviet Union made that first successful satellite launch with Sputnik<\/em> in October 1957, heating up its Space Race with the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe U.S. government saw they were behind, and they had an aggressive plan to catch up and surprise the Soviets,\u201d he said. \u201cThey spent a lot of money on research through the National Science Foundation, colleges and other agencies.\u201d

The United States also spent a lot of money on recruiting talent. Nguyen \u2013 who loved science, physics in particular, when he was growing up in Saigon, Vietnam \u2013 found himself among the beneficiaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The State Department offered him a college scholarship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was sent then to NC State,\u201d he said. \u201cI could have asked for another school, perhaps, but I was glad to be at NC State. I had a great time there. I was amazed by the campus. I went to a football game for the first time and made so many friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, 43% of undergraduates in the College of Sciences demonstrate financial need, averaging $17,434 per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“When students receive the Raymond Murray and Wesley Doggett Extraordinary Opportunity Scholarship, they will know there are alumni who believe in them \u2014 motivating them to excel academically, grow their scientific understanding and share their much-needed discoveries in ways that support our communities,” said Lewis Owen, dean of the College of Sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NC State’s Extraordinary Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (EOSI), launched in February 2020, has proven popular with donors and 434 students have received the scholarship at least once since it was first awarded that autumn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n