Naturally Driven: A BAE Senior’s Journey from Innovation to Restoration 

From her earliest memories of exploring forests, Megan Aljian has sensed a mutual understanding between humans and the natural world. 

As a student at NC State University, Aljian spends her time helping people build connections with each other and with the natural world. She is set to graduate this spring with a bachelor’s degree in biological engineering from the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE). 

As she begins her career as a stream restoration engineer at McAdams, she brings experience as an undergraduate researcher, a resident advisor and a startup founder. 

Starting from the Ground Up

As a freshman, Aljian was dead set on studying ethnobotany, the science of how people and plants intersect. Her interest began in the forest behind her high school, where she spent hours studying plants and collecting data for the science department.

Before arriving on campus, Aljian reached out to Christine Hawkes, a professor and director of the Microbiology Graduate Program, to ask about joining her lab as an undergraduate researcher.

Aljian spent her first semester in Hawkes’ lab sorting soil samples from around the world for a study quantifying how drought and the changing climate affect how much carbon certain microbes sequester in the soil.

Aljian’s experience working with Hawkes gave her knowledge she still references. “She [Hawkes] was such an incredible mentor, and somebody that I still think super highly of,” Aljian says. 

As her sophomore year began, Aljian realized she wanted a course plan that involved more math and had more of an applied aspect. This led her to NC State’s biological engineering program. 

“I really wanted to come out as an undergraduate with something that had teeth on its own, and BAE just felt like a better fit for me,” Aljian says. 

Growing as an Advocate

In addition to switching her major, Aljian began working as a resident advisor during her sophomore year. After three years in the role, she credits the experience with much of her personal growth.

“Being an RA has shaped how I lead in different spaces and how I work with people,” Aljian says.

The position also kept Aljian informed on housing discussions during her time as a student senator.

Aljian was part of conversations that focused on housing topics, and she found her experiences informed her discussions in the senate. “In that role you are adding any insight you can from a niche role like being an RA to the conversations that are being had there,” she says. 

Aljian believes hearing from students directly is a productive way to start conversations with leadership. “Sometimes, the most powerful thing is to hear directly from students, rather than having to hear it through a pipeline,” she says. 

Planting the Startup Seed

Aljian’s combined plant knowledge and eagerness to help her community pushed her to create her startup, Forest Found Products, to sell a topical bug-bite relief solution based on a specialized oak extract.

Her pitch for Forest Found won two NC State competitions: the N.C. Plant Sciences’ Seed2Grow student track and the VenturePack Challenge, where she captured the grand prize.

Initially, Aljian made the bug bite solution for campers while working as a camp counselor in Brevard, North Carolina. 

While guiding campers on the trail, she realized that the best way for them to see the bond she believes humans have with nature was by using the medicinal plants she found to demonstrate how humans and plants help each other.

Her bug bite solution was so popular with the campers and camp nurses that they asked her to bottle it up for the camp to use while she was away. 

“I went on leave one time, and when I came back a crowd of campers came running up to me, and they’re like, ‘We’re so glad that you’re back because we got so many bug bites,’” Aljian says.

When she came back to campus the fall of her senior year, she connected with NC State’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship team. Through their entrepreneurship programs, she received guidance and support that have helped her develop and grow her ideas. 

Rooted in Community 

Aljian felt hugely supported and encouraged by professors in BAE while navigating her startup.

Whether she was seeking guidance from Praveen Kolar, a professor and director of undergraduate programs for BAE, or consulting William White Distinguished Professor Steve Hall on the patent process, she found her ambitions were taken seriously.

“BAE is really a program that pulls for each other,” Aljian says. “I have never seen a program where the alumni reach back so much and the professors go above and beyond for students.”

Since then, her product has been officially patented and made available online. 

“I’m really excited to see where it goes,” Aljian says. “It has definitely had a ton more traction than I ever imagined, which is really exciting.” 

Looking back on her time at NC State, Aljian believes the culture and connections she found  supported her every step of the way. 

As Aljian prepares to grow her business and start as a stream restoration engineer at McAdams, she hopes to continue fostering connections between humans and the natural world.