Excellence. Sustainability. Collaboration. Community. NC State affirms them as core values and honors those who uphold them, including Pride of the Wolfpack recipient Abi Barefoot.

As Business Development and Operations Manager for NC State Student Media, Barefoot (B.S., 2023) is charged with generating more than $150,000 in non-fee revenue for the department by selling print and digital advertising, radio underwriting and outdoor display ads. Armed with a team of only six students, Barefoot has met and exceeded those income goals in her first two years in the position.

“With rising print costs and the denial of a request for additional student fee money, Abi has had to maximize every financial opportunity,” wrote Student Media Associate Director Jamie Lynn Gilbert in her nomination letter. To accomplish this, Barefoot launched a new graduate ad program for the Agromeck yearbook and a semesterly vendor fair to highlight campus and local businesses.

As adviser to the Business Office’s Student Media consultants, “It’s Abi’s job to give them the tools and confidence they need to sell semester-long advertising packages rather than a handful of sponsored social media posts,” Gilbert wrote. “She assists as needed, but gives her students the freedom to succeed or fail on their own.”

That can be a difficult line when money is involved, but one Barefoot walks well.

Barefoot was one of several Pride of the Wolfpack winners announced at the Division of Academic and Student Affairs fall kick-off event on Aug. 26. Recipients receive a certificate and mug sponsored by NC State Bookstores and designed exclusively for Pride of the Wolfpack winners. She was previously honored as a nominee for the 2024-2025 NC State Award for Excellence within the Division of Academic and Student Affairs and Student Leadership and Engagement’s 2025 Student Organization Advisor of the Year.

NC State Student Media is a high-impact learning lab for journalism and media production. Each year, more than 500 students manage operations across eight student-run organizations: Technician and The Nubian Message newspapers, Agromeck yearbook, Roundabout magazine, Windhover literary and visual arts magazine, WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 radio, a student-led Business Office and a dedicated Photo/Video team.