News
Wednesday, April 9, 2014 • page 4
RESEARCH TRIANGLE
from cover
“Raleigh is a great fit for Red Hat, and
I would say it’s a great fit for any growing
company,” said Kim Jokisch, Director of
Employment Branding and Media at Red
Hat. “It’s a fast growing city. It’s a vibrant
city. It’s a great place to work. There’s some
energy on the streets, and there’s nightlife
for young professionals after work.”
Raleigh is also part of North Carolina’s
Qualified Business Venture Incentive pro
gram, which offers certain businesses a re
fund on state taxes. This draws in manu
facturing, processing, research and service
sector industries.
North Carolina offers up to $6 million
in refund credit, with the majority going to
Raleigh-based businesses Because of these
incentives, businesses have flocked to Ra
leigh in recent years.
White said the most desirable cities for
businesses possess a large percentage of
well-educated professionals, a culture of
innovation, a spirit of collaboration, a pro
gressive community mindset and proximity
to urban amenities and natural resources.
White claimed Raleigh possesses all five
of these qualities. He worked to tap into
that potential to create a business-friendly
climate.
“Several years ago, Raleigh community
leaders began a very concerted effort to
encourage entrepreneurship as part of a
much broader strategy for economic de
velopment,” White said. “Tlirough ‘Inno
vate Raleigh,’ a major initiative involving
thought leaders from a wide cross-section
of the community, we identified big-picture
needs, established goals and made action
plans.”
As more businesses enter the Raleigh
market, competition has increased, which
is not necessarily a bad thing for emerging
companies who feed off each others’ suc
cess.
“dliis unique dynamic explains the speed
of our success. In large part by deliberately
fostering a grass roots culture that embrac
es innovation, greater Raleigh has crafted
a culture that welcomes the creative class,”
White said.
Elon goes to Raleigh
Idle Student Professional Development
RESEARCH
TRIANGLE
BY THE NUMBERS
The Research Triangle
encampasses Raleigh, Durham,
Chapel Hill and surraunding
tawns. Its living and warking
appeal draws yaung
prafessianals ta the area.
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#2
BEST PLACE
FOR BUSINESS
& CAREE
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BEST CITY FOR
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GRAPHIC BY KRISTEN DEMARlAi Design Chief & TERRENCE MCLAUGHLIN 1 Design Editor
Center encoui'ages Elon students to look in
Raleigh and the rest of the Research Tri
angle region for internships and jobs.
Unfortunately, getting into some of the
bigger companies is challenging for Elon
students and alumni.
The Triangle is home to some of the
largest and most well-known universities in
the country, whose students compete with
Elon students for the most coveted posi
tions.
Lauren Duffy, associate director of cor
porate and employer relations at Elon, said
students can leverage their Elon experienc
es, like study abroad or research, to stand
out among other students.
“Elon experiences set [Elon students]
apart from the pack,” Duffy, an ’09 alumna
who recently moved to Raleigh, said. “We
really encourage our students to talk about
these experiences to a potential employer.”
According to Duffy, relationships play
a key role. The SPDC hosts information
sessions with companies from all over the
country. When students do not show up,
she said it reflects poorly on the university
and threatens the relationship Elon has
with the employer.
“It’s crazy to pass up opportunities to
meet employers,” she said.
Christine Mavraganis, a 2013 graduate,
used SPDC opportunities to secure her job
at Allscripts, a health care technology com
pany based in Raleigh.
“They were the link to Allscripts be
cause they got me to go to the job fair,”