Charlotte Students Win Tuition In Niner Career Challenge
Five UNC Charlotte students received funding to cover their spring 2025 tuition as winners of the University Career Center’s fourth annual Niner Career Challenge.
The winners of the grand prize drawing were Grace Asaad, a junior computer science major; India Clark, a senior exercise science major; Ranaroath Mey, a senior health systems management major; Abhilash Pusapally, a graduate student in engineering; and Madison Silver, a junior health systems management major.
Employer partners Columbus McKinnon, Flexcare, Novant Health, Principal and Spectrum provided each winner with a “$3,500 check” to cover tuition.
More than 3,600 students participated in the 2024-25 Niner Career Challenge, which ran from Sept. 3 through Nov. 29. Participation increased 45% over the previous years, said Amy Browns, associate director, Career Center.
Niner Career Challenge contestants earn points to complete career-related events and activities, such as the Fall Career + internship Fair, Opportunities for All Mixer, A Day in a Life presentations by alumni, Career Trek to American Airlines, Using AI in a Job/Internship Search, Building your Brand and meetups with employers. Individual colleges also sponsor events and activities that award points.
The five challenge winners combined to attend or participate in 314 events and activities.
All Charlotte undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in at least six credit hours or a co-op, master’s or doctoral student in full-time status were eligible for the challenge. Only students who participated in at least 10 eligible activities were entered to win the grand prize of spring tuition.
Engineering graduate student Abhilash Pusapally stated, “Participating in the Niner Career Challenge helped me develop strong interpersonal and communication skills, especially in networking. It boosted my confidence in interviews and really helped me overcome the anxiety of the job search and made me feel more prepared for future opportunities.”
The Niner Career Challenge received the 2023 Innovation Award from the North Carolina Association of Colleges and Employers.