Blas Arroyo
The Arroyo Family Enhancement Fund was established in 2002 to provide scholarship assistance for Paper Science and Engineering undergraduate students in the College of Natural Resources at NC State. Blas P. and Melissa Arroyo established the fund in honor of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Blas M. Arroyo.
Blas earned his Bachelor’s degree in Pulp and Paper Science from NCSU in 1978 and a J.D. from Washington and Lee University in 1981. At NC State, he has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Endowment Fund and as a member of the Natural Resources Foundation Board. He is a Senior Counsel in Alston & Bird’s Intellectual Property Litigation Group in Charlotte, where his practice has focused on contested matters involving patent rights.
Impact
The scholarship was established to provide special enrichment opportunities for students enrolled in paper science and engineering programs, such as assistance in funding internships or similar experiences, in the College’s discretion. As a beneficiary of a Paper Foundation Scholarship which helped fund his own education at NC State, the endowment was a way to show his appreciation by providing similar opportunities for other students. While also honoring the many contributions and support of his parents.who immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba prior to the Cuban revolution. Following a career in semi-professional baseball, Blas’s father and mother settled in Palatka Florida, where his father worked for a paper company for a number of years and where Blas was born and raised.