Celebrating Excellence: 2024 CALS Alumni Award Winners

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) recently hosted a ceremony at the Talley Student Union to honor this year’s distinguished alumni award winners. Among the recipients, the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences proudly recognized two outstanding individuals for the alumni Awards: Robin Tutor Marcom (Outstanding Alumni) and Kali Beach (Outstanding Young Alumni). These remarkable individuals have made profound contributions to agriculture, and their paths from NC State to success are truly inspiring.

Robin Tutor Marcom: Outstanding Alumni

Robin Tutor Marcom is a seasoned agricultural and extension education professional, having earned her Ed.D. in 2016. Growing up on a farm in Orange County, North Carolina, Marcom moved to Clayton in 1985 and calls Johnston County home now. She currently serves as the chief administrative officer at The Veteran’s Farm of North Carolina, Inc., after retiring from a distinguished career with the North Carolina Agromedicine Institute on July 1.

Throughout her career, Marcom has been a driving force in advancing agricultural safety and health. Her efforts have been recognized with numerous accolades, including being named a N.C. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services Ambassador of Agriculture in June 2024. Notably, she developed and implemented a model that supports farmers in meeting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s respiratory protection standards for soil fumigants and restricted use pesticides, earning her the Professional Recognition Award from the American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators in 2021.

In 2020, Marcom’s work with the NC Agromedicine Institute was recognized by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities’ Commission on Economic and Community Engagement Scholarship Consortium. Her dedication to improving farm stress management and behavioral health support for farmers and farmworkers has been lifesaving, employing a multi-pronged approach to suicide prevention. Additionally, she played a key role in assisting North Carolina farms in managing COVID-19-related risks through interagency collaboration.

Marcom remains active in her community by annually judging 4-H state presentations in Agricultural Safety and Health, a category she helped establish. She is also a member of the International Society for Agricultural Safety and Health.

Marcom advises students to remain open to opportunities and take the time to find the area within agricultural and extension education that best aligns with their interests and skills.

Kali Beach: Outstanding Young Alumni

Kali Beach, a dedicated educator and leader, serves as the director of career and technical education for Pitt County Schools. A native of Cove City, North Carolina, Beach holds both a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education (2012) and a master’s in agricultural education (2014) from NC State University. While pursuing the latter degree, she served as a graduate assistant in the Agricultural Institute. Her career began as an agricultural educator at Columbia High School in 2014. She later taught at Mattamuskeet Early College High School, contributing to the growth of National FFA Organization chapters and receiving the National FFA Organization Membership Growth Award during the 2017-18 school year.

In 2020, Beach took on the roles of curriculum and instructional management coordinator, career development coordinator and special populations coordinator, before adding the role of career and technical Education (CTE) director for Hyde County Schools. Her responsibilities included providing oversight of CTE Presentation of Learning training and state assessment testing, providing instructional support to CTE teachers, and teaching career development for grades five through 12. She currently serves as CTE director for Pitt County Schools.

Beach is actively involved in her community by serving on the Southern Pitt Ducks Unlimited chapter, volunteering with the Outer Banks Ducks Unlimited chapter and participating in the Core Sound Decoy Carvers Guild, East Carolina Adult Volleyball league and various events at Covenant Church. She is also a member of the North Carolina Association for Career & Technical Education and the Association for Career & Technical Education. During her free time you can find her traveling, spending time outdoors or sipping on an ice cold Pepsi. 

Beach advises students to build connections with a variety of teachers, emphasizing that this is where they will learn the most about teaching and leadership. She also encourages having compassion and grace for oneself and students, especially in the early years of teaching.